Spirits of the Sisterhood
by RED5
Summary: It's been two years since Prue Halliwell died, and now her sisters are finally going to find out why.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer**

**Whilst I have enjoyed creating a new story for them, I do not own any of the characters in the 'Charmed Universe' they of course belong to Aaron Spelling and Constance Burge et al. I have also borrowed the myth surrounding the Winter Solstice, and the notion of the significance of the 5 elements and the pentagram to the practice of Wicca. I found these ideas in a book on Wicca whilst researching the story. **

'Coffee, give me coffee.' Phoebe Halliwell stumbled bleary-eyed in to the kitchen definitely still on dreamtime. Yawning widely she dropped in to the seat opposite her eldest sister Prue, and slumped forward, letting her head rest on the table, blonde hair cascading on to the newspaper that up until now Prue had been quietly reading.

Prue suppressed a smile. Phoebe rarely saw the hours between 6 and 8am. Something of a live wire, she had a tendency to party until the early hours and then sleep the morning away. She took a sip of her coffee and savoured the rich taste and pungent aroma. There was nothing like a fresh pot of coffee in the morning especially when it was 'leaded'. Her sisters favoured decaf, but Prue preferred the real deal and early in the morning was the only time she could drink it without suffering their sarcastic remarks. Still it looked like Phoebe could use a little caffeine fix of her own this morning. She picked up the pot, which was still warm, and poured a cup for Phoebe, placing it carefully on the table in front of her sleepy sister.

'Ooh, what happened you set your alarm wrong again?' Prue asked, stroking Phoebe's hair in mock sympathy.

'Ha, ha very funny. For your information I have a class this morning' Phoebe retaliated, without bothering to raise her head from the table.

'So I guess it was a late one last night' Prue surmised as she folded up her newspaper and placed it neatly on the table in front of her. No chance of reading now that Phoebe was awake. Prue was always the first one up. It had become something of a ritual; a quiet moment to herself in what was invariably a hectic and demanding day. Today her quiet time had ended prematurely, not that she really minded. She and Phoebe had been estranged when they were younger, but now that they had developed the closeness that had been lacking during their formative years Prue enjoyed her youngest sister's company. They had a lot of wasted time to catch up on, and they both relished the second chance that destiny had handed them.

'I didn't get to bed until three' Phoebe admitted morosely as she forced herself up from the table and reached for the coffee that Prue had poured for her. 'Please tell me this is leaded.'

Prue smirked. 'Like you even have to ask?'

Phoebe smiled. 'Boy do I need a shot of caffeine right now. Just don't tell Piper' she begged. 'I'll never hear the end of it.'

'Don't worry your secret's safe with me.' Prue promised, miming zipping her lips.

'Good.' Phoebe said stifling another yawn. She took a sip of her coffee. 'Ooh' she groaned clutching her head.

'Premonition?' Prue asked, instantly alert.

'Hangover' Phoebe admitted sheepishly.

'Seems I missed quite a party last night.' Prue observed.

'Well if you had stayed at P3 like I told you to, you would have experienced for yourself just how great the band was, and you would have may be even enjoyed yourself.' Phoebe chastised, her eyes letting Prue know that she was more concerned than angry. She took another sip of her coffee; taking a moment to savour the taste just as Prue had done earlier.

Prue frowned in irritation. 'I told you already; I had to get my assignment finished by this morning. My editor's been on my case all week and I can't afford to lose this job.'

Phoebe shook her head in dismay 'Prue you have been working around the clock lately, isn't it about time you had some fun? You do remember fun don't you?'

"Mmmm vaguely.' Prue joked, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

'Well isn't it about time the two of you got reacquainted?' Phoebe asked, looking at Prue meaningfully.

'Okay, okay' Prue threw up her hands in mock protest 'I promise I'll take some time off.'

'When?' Phoebe pressed.

'Soon' Prue promised. 'So is Piper still sleeping?' She asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Phoebe frowned. She should have known she wasn't gonna win this argument. Prue was a workaholic, always had been. She'd made her feelings known and that was it argument over, case closed, and she wouldn't be drawn on it further. Arguments with Prue always followed the same pattern and Phoebe had learned the hard way that there was no use trying to prolong the debate, they would just end up fighting and she didn't want that. In the past she would have taken Prue on, just to get a rise out of her older sister. These days her relationship with Prue was much better and she intended to keep it that way. A little reluctantly she let it go, and instead allowed herself to be manipulated in to the new topic of conversation.

'I wouldn't expect Piper to surface anytime soon' she said, a smile crossing her features. 'Leo showed up just after we got home last night. I figure the two of them have got a lot of er' she paused searching for the right words 'catching up to do.' She sighed wistfully, wishing that her own relationship with ADA Cole Turner were running so smoothly.

'A ha' Prue grinned. 'Well at least one of us is doing okay in the relationship stakes.' She took a final sip of her coffee and pushed back her chair 'Time I was getting to work, and you'd better get going too if you're gonna make that early class.'

Phoebe merely nodded dismissively and reached for the coffee pot. One more cup ought to set her up for the day ahead. She knew she shouldn't really be drinking so much caffeine, but it was either that or snooze through class and she really wanted to graduate this summer. It was amazing how two cups of coffee could make up for only 3 hours sleep.

Halfway to the door Prue hesitated and looked around uncertainly.

'What's the matter?' Phoebe asked, a little more alert thanks to the hefty dose of caffeine she'd just imbibed.

Prue frowned. 'I don't know I just felt a chill. It's like someone turned the AC up way too high.' She turned worried eyes on Phoebe 'You know what that means.'

'Shax' Phoebe answered automatically. He had attacked several times already this week and they still hadn't managed to vanquish him permanently.

Before either of them could react, a tornado of artic air whipped through the kitchen destroying anything and everything that was in its path. Seconds later the imposing figure of Shax stood before them.

'Quick Phoebe the spell' Prue instructed as she squared off against Shax, putting herself between him and her sister. She just had to hold him off long enough for Phoebe to recite the spell. She thought of calling for Piper, they could really do with her explosive power right about now, but there wasn't time.

'I can't remember it, I don't remember' Phoebe stuttered in panic. Frantically she tried to picture the words on the page of the Book of Shadows, but nothing would come. Her throat closed with fear and her chest tightened uncomfortably. They were going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

'Phoebe' Prue yelled in desperation as Shax advanced on her, but Phoebe could only watch helplessly as Shax sent Prue flying through the air. Prue hit the wall hard and slumped to the floor.

'No!' Phoebe screamed running over to her sister's lifeless body. Prue's eyes were glassy, and Phoebe couldn't find a pulse. 'No!' she screamed again as Shax turned towards her.

'Hey, hey sweetie wake up, it's just a dream.' Piper said softly, gently shaking Phoebe by the shoulder. Unable to rouse her, she tried again, this time speaking more insistently 'Phoebe, come on wake up.' She shook her sister more vigorously.

Phoebe awoke with a start and found herself staring in to the concerned eyes of her older sister. 'Piper?' She asked in confusion, still a little disorientated.

'Shush.' Piper said soothingly, hugging Phoebe tightly. 'Everything's alright, you're safe, everything's fine.'

'It happened again.' Phoebe said shakily, screwing up her eyes against the light. 'The same dream, the one about Prue and Shax.' She shivered. She was drenched in sweat and her skin felt cold and clammy.

'Piper it felt so real. Shax was attacking Prue and I couldn't remember the vanquishing spell. She kept asking me to help her and I couldn't.'

'I know honey' Piper soothed. 'But Phoebe we vanquished Shax, it's all over.'

'Then why do I keep on having this same dream?' Phoebe asked insistently. Her heart was still racing, and even though the last fragments of the dream were dissipating, she couldn't shake the feeling of fear.

'There's got to be a reason. Do you think it's some kind of premonition? I've had them in my dreams before.'

'I don't think so. Your dream is about something that's already happened, that's not the way your powers work, you usually see the future not the past' Leo said from behind Piper.

He looked as though he were still half asleep. He was wearing a pair of boxers and a faded grey t-shirt, and his hair was tousled as though he hadn't brushed it in days. He put his hand to his mouth attempting to smother a yawn.

'But it hasn't already happened' Phoebe argued. When Piper and Leo looked at her in confusion she hastily explained 'I mean that's not how it happened. I wasn't even there when Shax killed Prue.' She looked down at the duvet, which she had twisted in her hand 'I was with Cole.'

'You know dreams are often the result of your subconscious mind trying to work through issues that your conscious mind doesn't want to deal with' Leo said gently, breaking the awkward silence. 'I think your dream is just a reflection of the guilt you feel at not being there when Prue died. It's your way of coping with it.'

'Makes sense' Piper agreed, giving Phoebe's hand a comforting squeeze.

'But Prue died two years ago, why would I suddenly start dreaming about her now?' Phoebe protested.

'Well we have been talking about her a lot lately.' Piper offered, looking to Leo for support. He nodded encouragingly, and she continued 'I guess it's not surprising you started dreaming about her.'

'Maybe. Phoebe acknowledged, not completely convinced. 'But I still can't shake the feeling that something bad is gonna happen.'

'Well if you don't let me get some sleep soon something bad is gonna happen' Piper said, only half joking. 'You know how I get when I don't have my full eight hours.'

Heavily pregnant, she was having a hard time sleeping these days. Her swollen belly made finding a comfortable sleeping position practically impossible, and if that wasn't bad enough she was plagued by an aching back and recurrent heartburn, not to mention the baby's tendency to use her for soccer practice. She'd only managed an hour of sleep before she'd been awoken by Phoebe's screams, and she was exhausted.

'Oh honey I'm sorry.' Phoebe said, instantly filled with guilt. 'You go back to bed, I'll be fine now, don't worry.'

'Okay. Good' Piper nodded, not needing any more persuading. She really wasn't good without sleep and she sure hadn't had enough of it lately.

'Well we'll see you in the morning then' she said decisively, easing herself off the edge of Phoebe's bed, and taking hold of Leo's hand. Leo gave Phoebe a reassuring smile before allowing Piper to lead him back to bed. As he left he switched off the light, leaving Phoebe alone in the dark.

Phoebe reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. She was still way too creeped out by the dream to even think about sleep, and she wasn't too crazy about sitting alone in the dark right now. She sure hoped that they were right, that it was just a bad dream, but she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding. Something was coming, something bad, she was sure of it.

**To Be Continued ……**


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews on Chapter One. In case you're confused, this story is set mid to late season 5 with some slight changes (call it artistic licence) so it won't necessarily always fit exactly with what was seen on screen. I really wanted to do a little more with Cole before we said goodbye to him for good. All three Charmed Ones share the limelight in this one, it isn't focused on any one of them particularly.

Jenna smiled in satisfaction as she surveyed the scene around her. Everything was in place, and the coven was waiting eagerly for her to begin the ritual. Her friends, her sisters, all of them were dressed for the occasion in their ceremonial robes. They had wreaths of blossom in their hair – no mean feat in December, but it was essential to be correctly dressed if the ceremony were to be successful. As High Priestess it was her duty and her honour to preside over the ceremony. To most ordinary people, December 21st, the shortest day, was seen as a gloomy time, but Jenna knew better. The Winter Solstice was a time of joy and celebration, a recognition that soon the dark days of winter would give way to summer's light.

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, savouring the crispness in the evening air. In a few hours time the Holly King's reign of darkness would come to an end, and his brother the Oak King would take over, leading the world in to the light. On midsummer's day the positions would be reversed, and the Holly King would once again reclaim his throne. It was nature's cycle, a clever balancing act of darkness and light.

As was the tradition, the coven had gathered to celebrate the Solstice, to mark the passing of the darkness, and to welcome the return of the sun. Jenna opened her eyes and glanced around at the coven, her coven. Her heart filled with pride at what they had achieved over the past five years. They had a key role to play in the fight against evil, and so far they had fulfilled their duty admirably, but there was still more to be done if the Charmed Ones were to remain protected.

The fire, the symbol of their coven was burning brightly, orange flames lapping hungrily at the wooden pyre they had assembled. Jenna smiled. The brightly burning flames provided a welcome splash of colour in the dark night sky, lending a little warmth to what was an unusually chilly evening. She took a deep breath, savouring the distinctive smell of woodbine and coriander intermingled with the magics in the air around her. She nodded her head at the coven members, indicating they should take up their positions.

Everything was as it should be. Silently she watched, waited, until at last she saw the first tendrils of light breaking through the darkness. It was time. Picking up the candle she moved to the centre of the circle and began to recite the incantation. She was dead before she had even completed the first sentence, the energy ball leaving scorch marks on the grass where only moments earlier she had been standing.

Screwing up her face in concentration, Paige Matthews made careful notes on the paper in front of her. Her lips moved soundlessly as her finger traced the lines of text. The early fog had dissipated, late morning sunlight streamed through the open window, and a slight breeze rustled the pages of the Book of Shadows. Cross-legged on the attic floor, surrounded by boxes, candles and other more bizarre odds and ends necessary for witchy endeavours, Paige was almost hidden. She liked it that way, cause right now she didn't want to be found.

It wasn't just the mess, although Piper would have a fit if she saw the state the attic was in - pages and pages filled with her large, slightly untidy handwriting, now covered the floor around her. Neither was it the solitude, although that was a precious commodity in this house – what with two sisters, the obligatory husbands and boyfriends, plus all the demons, warlocks, darklighters and whatever else team evil chose to throw at them, her life at the Manor was seldom peaceful. Moments of solitude didn't happen that often and Paige was astute enough to know that this particular moment would not last long. As such she was determined to make the most of it.

But no, it wasn't the mess or a desire for solitude that made Paige want to hide. She had a secret, a secret she wasn't ready to share. Right now Paige was working on a little something of her own, and it was something she had no intention of telling her sisters about until she was sure she'd gotten it right. Okay so Phoebe and Piper were big on the sharing, but she'd been an only child for most of her life and she was used to her independence. It was kinda nice to have a project all her own, even if she was a little stuck right now.

Paige let out a breath and stretched her stiffening muscles. Slowly she reached over and picked up her mug of coffee, never once taking her eyes off the book. She took a sip of her coffee and then screwed up her face in disgust. She'd been so engrossed in her task that she'd let it get cold. Setting the mug back down, she risked a glance at her watch and was surprised to see that most of the morning had slipped away without her noticing. She sighed heavily. She'd promised Piper she'd pick up the groceries, and she was supposed to be helping Phoebe with the Christmas decorations for P3.

Reluctantly Paige put down the book and considered her situation. Piper was currently who knew where enjoying a rare day out with Leo and wasn't expected back for hours, so that left plenty of time for grocery shopping. Phoebe on the other hand was a different matter entirely. She was due to meet Phoebe at her office at the Bay Mirror at around one. Paige calculated quickly. If she orbed there instead of driving, she would cut half an hour out of her travel time, and that would give her at least another forty-five minutes alone with the Book.

It wasn't exactly personal gain, Paige rationalised to herself, given that what she was doing had everything to do with safe guarding the future of the Charmed Ones. It wasn't like she was looking through the book to conjure up an instant wealth spell, or trying to summon Mr Right, though god knows she'd been tempted. Nope this one was strictly legit, which meant she was perfectly within her rights to travel via her own magical means.

That decided she turned her attention back to the book. She wasn't really sure that the answer she was looking for was even in the Book of Shadows, but it seemed as good a place to start as any. She'd been working on this for a few weeks now; grabbing any opportunity she could to hide herself away with the book.

She felt a little guilty lying to Phoebe and Piper about what she was doing. Only last night she'd told Piper that she was going to bed early to catch up on some sleep, when in reality she'd been awake until the early hours reading and making notes. Still if this worked it would be worth it, and she was sure her sisters would forgive her a few white lies.

She'd already been through the book from cover to cover several times, but she wasn't ready to quit, not yet. This was way too important. They were vulnerable right now and with Piper so close to her due date, and Phoebe so overloaded at work, it had naturally fallen to her to make sure the Charmed Ones were ready for whatever came their way next.

Usually Piper was the witch in charge, but now that she'd entered the third trimester of her pregnancy, Piper's priorities had changed. The rest of the family had stepped admirably in to the breach, making sure that Piper had nothing more troubling than deciding on baby names to occupy her time. Although she was excited at the prospect of becoming an aunt, Paige had to admit she was a little uneasy at the fact that Piper was taking such a backseat when it came to their Charmed duties.

Piper's explosive powers had saved the day more times than Paige cared to remember. Sure impending motherhood was important, but as far as Paige was concerned their work as witches had to come first - evil wasn't gonna take a time out just because Piper was pregnant. They were the Charmed Ones, and their success depended on the power of three, not the power of two.

She sighed and chewed the end of her biro thoughtfully – or should that be the power of one? Because in all honesty Phoebe wasn't much help right now. What with her incredibly demanding job at the newspaper and her continual love/hate relationship with the ex- DA/demon Cole Turner, Phoebe tended to cram vanquishes in between meetings; running between home and the office, at the perpetual beck and call of her editor.

Although Phoebe was preoccupied with keeping Piper and the baby safe, she had so little free time that the actual burden of figuring out how that task would be accomplished had landed squarely on Paige's shoulders. It was only fair since Paige didn't have a job right now. She'd given up a promising career in social work to devote herself to her witchcraft, and boy had she needed that extra free time. She'd had to get her abilities up to speed real quick, talk about a steep learning curve. Sometimes she still worried that there were things she hadn't learned well enough, it had all happened so fast. Still Phoebe seemed happy enough to leave her with the lion's share of wiccan responsibilities right now. For the last few weeks that was how they had worked it. Whenever the next demonic threat presented itself, Paige came up with the plan and Phoebe and Leo stepped in to provide the magical assist, all three doing their best to ensure that Piper remained completely oblivious, and out of harm's way.

Somehow, despite the almost overwhelming pressure, Paige had so far managed to come up with the goods, providing a kick-ass plan just in time to save the day. Although she was really kinda pleased, not to mention mighty relieved, by her performance so far, she had to admit that they hadn't faced anything really big. Lately though Phoebe had been troubled by a sense of impending doom in the form of a recurrent nightmare. Maybe it was her power, a by-product of the premonitions, or maybe she'd been eating too much cheese right before going to bed.

Whatever, she had managed to get Paige spooked too, so much so that Paige was no longer happy to take their usual reactive approach- wait for the bad guys to attack and then respond. Instead she felt that it was time for a pre-emptive strike to take out any threat before it had a chance to attack. Phoebe wasn't so sure, she didn't wanna go stirring up trouble this close to Piper's due date. Instead she insisted that they work on becoming extra vigilant, do what they always did, just do it better.

Paige didn't agree, and so she felt that it was up to her to do something about it. She was sure that Phoebe would thank her for it later, but just for the moment it was better to keep it her little secret. She had decided that she Paige was going to take the responsibility, to take charge. She had to be the leader of the Charmed Ones, stepping into the shoes of Prue Halliwell. Boy, were they big shoes to fill! Paige had never met Prue, but she'd certainly heard enough about her. To listen to Piper and Phoebe talk, you'd think that Prue was Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dark Angel all rolled into one.

Prue had been the ultimate demon fighter, and even now after all this time Paige couldn't help feeling as though her sisters saw her as a poor substitute. She'd figured that Piper's pregnancy would bring them closer together, help in someway to redress the balance. After all Piper and Leo's baby would be half-witch-half-whitelighter just like Paige herself, and that should count for something. But instead there had been numerous evenings reminiscing over old photos of Prue, Piper and Phoebe as kids, reliving memories that Paige couldn't share.

In fact Piper hadn't really talked to Paige about her pregnancy at all. Sure she knew all the little stuff, like the magical side effects, and about Piper's dislike of maternity clothes, but she didn't really know the stuff that mattered, like what Piper was thinking or feeling, and that hurt. She'd really thought that she'd gotten over this, had settled in, become part of the family, but Piper's pregnancy had stirred up all her insecurities, and the feeling of being an outsider was stronger than ever. So Paige had devised a plan, a plan that would prove that she was more than a match for Prue Halliwell, that she truly deserved the title 'Charmed One.'

If she could make this work then not only could they all breathe a big sigh of relief about Piper and the baby, but she would finally feel like a real member of the family, she was sure of it!

**To Be Continued …**


	3. Chapter 3

'Leo!'

No answer. Her voice echoed around the empty nightclub. She drummed her fingers on the bar impatiently, lack of sleep had made her cranky, and she was in no mood to be kept waiting.

'Le–oooo!'

Still no answer. Piper scowled at the dirty glasses that still littered the bar from last night's sell out – where was he? She was about to give birth right here on the floor of P3 and the doting father was nowhere in sight. Both she and their newly born magical child could be dragged down to the Under World before he even noticed anything was wrong.

'Le ..'

'Alright, alright I'm here' Leo announced breathlessly, as he orbed in behind her.

Piper jumped at the unexpected arrival, but quickly regained her composure, placing her hands on her hips and fixing him with one her dark stares 'You know what Mister, You're gonna have to respond a hell of a lot quicker than that when I really go into labour.'

'I know, and I will, I promise' Leo gabbled, 'but I was right in the middle of healing an innocent and I couldn't just leave, it was a critical moment.'

'And the birth of your child isn't a critical moment? Piper snapped in exasperation. He'd been working round the clock lately, trying to get ahead so that he could take some time off when the baby came. She understood his logic, but it meant that she'd hardly seen him. This was supposed to be their day together and already he had skipped out on her twice, first to answer a call from one of his charges, and just now to heal an innocent. Not that she wanted him to ignore his whitelighter duties of course, it was just that she'd been looking forward to spending some much needed quality time alone with her husband, and she was starting to find the constant interruptions annoying.

'Of course it is Piper,' Leo protested quickly. Piper had a tendency to be grumpy at times, and right now with pregnancy making her hormones go crazy, and Phoebe's nightmares interrupting her sleep, she was on a very short fuse. He had been tiptoeing around her all week trying not to make her mad, with varying degrees of success. She'd already lost her temper this morning and blown up several bar stools and numerous shot glasses. He looked at the damage ruefully, making a mental note to clean it up before he left.

'You know that you and the baby mean everything to me' he continued, attempting to placate her. ' It's just that this was just a practice and right now…'

'You're busy, I know' Piper interrupted testily. She knew she'd been snapping at him lately, and that mostly he didn't deserve it. As she got closer to the end of her pregnancy, she'd found herself becoming increasingly irritable and even the most insignificant event was likely to result in a burst of temper. She knew that it wasn't Leo's fault, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed that her husband, usually so intuitive, seemed unable to understand what she needed from him right now.

She'd wanted today to be about the two of them, an opportunity to put a little romance back in to their flagging relationship, but instead Leo had insisted that they use the time to practice their drill for when she went in to labour. This was their fourth dry run with Leo orbing in from different locations around the city. She knew that he was right, that it was something that they needed to practice, after all her due date was getting close, but she couldn't help but worry that whilst they were concentrating all of their energies on the baby, they were neglecting their relationship and it was starting to show.

She badly needed to talk to someone about her problems with Leo, but neither of her sisters seemed to have the time for a heart to heart at the moment. Phoebe was so busy with work, she'd hardly spent any time at home lately, and when she was home she was grabbing a cup of coffee and racing out the door or jabbering away on her cell phone.

As for Paige, on the rare nights when she wasn't out partying, she had recently taken to shutting herself away in her room claiming the need for a little down time. It was pretty obvious that extra sleep was just an excuse to avoid company, but Piper figured that Paige had been an only child for so long it wasn't surprising she sometimes craved some time to herself, and so she left Paige alone. It had been tough enough persuading Paige to move in to the Manor in the first place, she didn't want to give her youngest sister any reason to move out.

Still Piper couldn't remember when she'd last spent any quality time with either of her sisters, and she found it a little unsettling. Oh sure they got all excited every time the baby kicked, and they fussed over her whenever they thought she was doing too much, but they didn't have proper conversations these days. They didn't tell her what was going on in their lives, didn't come to her with their problems, and they weren't around to listen to her. She'd thought that the baby would bring her closer to her husband and her sisters, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect.

It didn't help that they had sidelined her from any demonic type action for the last few weeks. She wasn't stupid, she knew full well that stuff had been going on; there had been whispered talk of vanquishing potions, and secret meetings that they thought she didn't know about. She'd tried challenging them about it, but she'd just been told that she didn't need to worry everything was under control. She sighed heavily. She should be making the most of the magical downtime, all she'd ever wanted was a normal life, and here she was, a husband, a baby on the way and a magic free existence. She should be ecstatic, but for some reason she wasn't.

When she'd first learned that she was pregnant she'd been overjoyed. Okay so she'd had a few doubts in the beginning, but didn't every pregnant woman have doubts? And it wasn't like this was a normal pregnancy; most expectant mothers didn't have to worry about demon attacks at the same time as decorating the nursery and deciding on baby names. Still she'd coped with it, with all of it. She'd gotten past the horrible morning sickness and all the side effects of a magical pregnancy- why hadn't anyone warned her about those? She'd even gotten used to maternity clothes albeit grudgingly, so why was she suddenly having such a hard time with the whole mom to be gig?

Looking at Leo's earnest expression, her face softened 'I know you're trying honey, it's just that right now I feel…'

But Leo wasn't listening, instead he looked at her apprehensively 'I'm sorry Piper' he said reluctantly. 'They're calling, I have to go.'

'No, Leo, not now, I need to talk to…' but it was too late, before she could finish the sentence, he had dropped a kiss on her forehead and orbed out in a twinkling of blue lights.

'No' Piper howled in frustration. She couldn't help but think that the constant interruptions were a deliberate ploy by the Elders. She bet they were sitting up there right now dreaming up jobs to keep Leo busy for the rest of the day. She frowned. Why did they have to be so uptight anyway? She knew that lots of people didn't get on with their in laws, but the Elders were worse than the worst mother in law imaginable. Okay so they'd relented and allowed her to marry Leo, which meant that they hadn't had to sneak around and try to keep her pregnancy hidden the way mom and Sam had done when they'd been expecting Paige, but she knew that the Elders weren't exactly thrilled by the turn of events.

Although she hated to admit it she guessed she could see their point. Theirs would be a twice-blessed child, and according to the Elders, although the baby could become an incredible force for good, the consequences would be catastrophic if the child were turned to evil. She shivered at the thought. There was no way she or her sisters were gonna let that happen, but still it was a big responsibility and if she thought about it too much it kinda freaked her out.

Dropping dejectedly in to a chair she stared morosely around her. Right now the club was empty, but pretty soon it would be filled with people laughing and dancing and drinking. People having a good time, with nothing more pressing to worry about than deciding how they were gonna spend New Years. Just for a moment she wished she weren't eight months pregnant. She could get all dressed up, remind Leo just how sexy she could be. They could have a romantic night on the town, or a mad passionate night in a hotel; enjoy each other the way they used to. As if reading her disloyal thoughts the baby gave her a painful kick

'Ow' Piper grimaced, clutching her stomach. 'I'm sorry okay I didn't mean it' she apologised. 'It's just I don't think your daddy finds me very attractive right now.' She shook her head sadly. She sure didn't feel attractive right now, she felt fat and uncomfortable and about as far away from sexy as it was possible to be, no wonder Leo didn't want to spend any time alone with her.

With Leo gone she was at a loose end. She guessed she should head home, maybe take a nap or catch up on her soaps, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to relax at home knowing that all this mess was here. Humming softly to herself she spent the next half hour clearing up the broken glasses that she'd exploded earlier. Then she started on last night's mess, collecting up the glasses and stacking them in the dishwasher. 'There' she said happily, when she was finally done 'that looks so much better.'

Leo still hadn't returned and Piper still didn't feel ready to head for home. She decided instead to take a little peak at the books. After all what kind of businesswoman would she be if she didn't keep an eye on her investment? It wasn't like she'd deliberately come out to check up on Phoebe, she'd planned to spend the day with Leo, he was the one who'd left her alone here. Feeling just a teensy bit guilty at snooping, Piper headed out back to her office.

As she walked through the club, she eyed her surroundings critically. The festive season was in full swing, and the endless rounds of office parties and social events meant that this could be a boom time for any club. Sure P3 was doing okay, but she relied on her holiday trade to see her through January, always a quiet month after the Christmas excess. With more clubs opening up every week the market was competitive and P3 had to be at its best if it was going to remain viable.

A huge Christmas tree stood in the corner still undecorated, and boxes of decorations were stacked on the side, some opened, others still neatly packed from last year. It was as though someone had gotten them out of storage and then run out of enthusiasm for the task. Piper frowned. Phoebe had told her that she'd finished decorating the club weeks ago, and trusting fool that she was, she'd believed her.

Piper resisted the strong temptation to organise the Christmas decorations herself. She could have the whole thing done in a matter of hours, but Phoebe was supposed to do it, and Piper would just have to trust her to get the job done- eventually. Right now P3 was Phoebe's responsibility not hers, and as Leo was forever telling her these days, she had to learn to take a backseat. Her family had made it perfectly clear that for the last few weeks of her pregnancy, the baby had to be her number one priority. She frowned again. Like they would ever let her forget it.

She'd thought that getting out of the house and coming down to P3 would cheer her up, but being here just made her long for the life she'd had before she'd gotten pregnant. It wasn't as though her life had been easy, and she'd gone through a lot of changes over the last few years since they'd lost Grams and more recently Prue. She'd come to terms with being a witch, one of the famous Charmed Ones no less. She'd quit the bank and followed her dream of becoming a chef, then traded in her job at 'Quake' and re-invented herself as a successful club owner. She'd even accepted her new role as head of the family. So why was she having such a hard time with this latest change?

She wanted to talk to her family about how she felt, but she just couldn't seem to find the right moment or the right words. More than anything she wished that Prue were here. She'd always been able to talk to Prue, and she needed her big sister now more than ever. Frowning, Piper wiped away the tears that had escaped. She had to pull herself together, Prue wasn't here, that was the way things were and she would just have to accept that. She shook her head in disgust; she'd come to terms with Prue's death a long time ago, dealt with it and moved on with her life. Hormones that's all this was, her hormones were going crazy right now, no wonder she was getting over emotional.

'Shake it off' she told herself firmly. Retrieving the accounts from the shelf and her calculator from the drawer, she settled down at her desk, but for the next hour or so as she checked the books, she found that couldn't get Prue out of her mind.

**To be continued ….**


	4. Chapter 4

'Okay Darryl I hear ya. I'll round up Paige and we'll get right on it, just as soon as I finish this little bit of paperwork… Okay, okay, I said I would.' Phoebe protested, cradling the phone against her shoulder whilst tapping on the keyboard in front of her with her right hand and reaching for her coffee with her left. 'Yes I got it, a coven, scorch marks…'

'Dammit' Phoebe cursed as the cup slid away from her hurried fingers, spilling the dark brown liquid all over this week's 'batch of 'Ask Phoebe' letters.

'Look Darryl I've really gotta go', she insisted, dabbing futilely at the letters, with a tissue. 'I promise we'll look in to it. Okay bye.'

'Urrgggh' Phoebe groaned as she hung up the phone and surveyed the devastation that was her desk. 'Just what I need another demon up to no good! Like I haven't got anything better to do, like I don't know maybe write a highly successful advice column or pick out the Christmas decorations for P3.'

Today had gotten off to a bad start and things had gone from bad to worse. Tired from two many nights of interrupted sleep, she'd ended up oversleeping and being late for work. When she'd finally made it in Elise had been on her case about this week's column, and now Darryl seemed to think there was a new demonic threat in town. There just weren't enough hours in the day right now. Disgruntled, she wadded up the soggy tissue and threw it in the general direction of the trashcan.

'Whoah' Cole exclaimed as he dodged the missile, which flew past him and out of the open office door. 'Is this a bad time?' he asked, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

Phoebe groaned. Just when she'd thought her day couldn't get any worse, here he was the perennial thorn in her side. 'It's always a bad time with us Cole' she said bluntly, taking off her glasses, and treating him to her most formidable glare.

The smile disappeared from his lips, and his handsome face was marred by a frown, but he recovered quickly. 'You don't mean that Phoebe. I know you don't.'

'Look Cole, I'm kinda busy so if you could maybe speed things up here, I really don't have time for your games right now' Phoebe protested, risking a glance through the office window to check if Elise was in the vicinity. Her editor would not be pleased if she caught Phoebe wasting time on idle chatter when she had a fast approaching deadline to meet. What with all the hours she'd been putting in at P3 lately, plus the usual Charmed duties, she was way behind at work.

Luckily Elise was caught up talking to Karen over on features, and hadn't noticed that Phoebe had company. She thought about closing the blinds so that Cole couldn't be seen, but decided against it. She needed to stay aware of Elise's movements; she didn't want her editor bursting in to the office unexpectedly. If she could just get rid of Cole quickly, maybe it would be okay.

'This isn't a game' Cole said, suddenly serious. He moved over to close the door ensuring that they had a little privacy. 'This isn't a social call Phoebe, I'm here to warn you.'

'Warn me?' Phoebe looked at him warily, her senses suddenly on the alert, all thoughts of Elise and the impending deadline gone. 'What have you done this time Cole?'

'I'm serious Phoebe' Cole exclaimed, taking a step towards her.

'So am I Cole' Phoebe glowered at him. She felt a lurch of panic, last night's dream coming back vividly. Whatever Cole was up to it wouldn't be good, and it was the last thing she needed this close to Piper's due date. So far they'd managed to hold the forces of darkness at bay, but the nearer they got to the birth, the more nervous Phoebe felt. She'd sworn to herself that she would do everything possible to keep Piper and the baby safe, but with so many demons, warlocks and darklighters out there it was a daunting task. What if she couldn't protect them? What if she lost another sister? All week she'd had this feeling that something really bad was coming, was this it?

'Okay', Cole relented, holding up his hands and stepping back to indicate that he didn't mean any harm. 'Look Phoebe this isn't about us okay, it's about you, you and your sisters. You see there's this demon that wants you dead.'

He looked at her intently. 'I know this guy Phoebe; he could actually pull it off. I really think that the Charmed Ones are in danger.'

'When aren't we?' she muttered under her breath, immediately relaxing. It was just the usual run of the mill demonic activity and he was using it as an excuse to come over-again. She sighed irritably. 'First Morris now you, what is it with everyone today?'

Cole frowned 'Morris?'

Phoebe rolled her eyes 'Yeah he just called, something about a local coven being destroyed, energy balls, yadda, yadda, yadda.'

'A whole coven?' Cole asked in alarm.

'Mmhmm' Phoebe confirmed absently, discretely reaching for her pen to carry on with her work. She had to get this done, and then she needed to finish picking out the decorations for P3, which should have been done weeks ago. She'd lied to Piper, told her that it was all under control, she didn't wanna give Piper any excuse to go back to work. She wasn't exactly comfortable with the lie, even if it was done with the best intentions. What Piper needed right now was rest and lots of it. She'd already messed up by keeping her sister awake with her recurrent nightmares; she had to do better than this. Phoebe had made it her mission to ensure that for these last few weeks of her pregnancy, Piper would have a completely stress free existence and so far she was failing miserably.

The sooner she got down to P3 and got those decorations picked out the better, and then of course she would have to check out Darryl's crime scene and that could only lead to more work, the crime was bound to be demonic. There was no way Darryl's murder would be of the human variety she just wasn't that lucky. She sighed heavily, wondering how on earth she was gonna get it all done. She'd planned to get the column finished this morning, and then she and Paige were going to do the decorations this afternoon, but the morning was almost over and the column still wasn't done. If she could just get it finished off now, and then she and Paige could swing by the crime scene before they went to P3, or would it be better to go to P3 first…

'And he definitely said energy balls?' Cole asked anxiously, interrupting her musing.

'That's right' Phoebe said brightly, only half of her attention on Cole as she debated how to answer the query from a reader who had found her boyfriend in bed with her sister. She chewed the end of her pen thoughtfully as she tried to compose her opening sentence.

'Don't worry Cole, Paige and I have got this totally under control. I'm heading over there right now just as soon as I get this column finished' she reassured him, hoping he would take the hint and leave.

'I've gotta go' Cole said abruptly, his face creased with worry. 'It's worse than I thought. I knew I could feel a shift in the balance, but I didn't think it was this bad.'

'A which in the what?' Phoebe asked, putting down her pen and finally giving him her full attention. She screwed up her face in confusion 'Cole, whatcha talking about?'

'I'm talking about the end of the Charmed Ones' he said, and with that he shimmered out leaving Phoebe completely alone.

'Cole wait' Phoebe protested, but it was too late, he was gone. Suddenly appearing in his place was Elise. Phoebe who hadn't noticed her editor opening the door, shrieked in surprise and almost knocked over what remained of her coffee.

'So' Elise looked at Phoebe expectantly 'How's this week's column coming?'

'Almost there.' Phoebe lied, smiling weakly.

Elise nodded her approval 'Good. When you're done just drop it on my desk.'

'No problem' Phoebe responded a little too brightly, the fake smile still fixed on her face. As soon as Elise had gone she dropped the smile and reached for the phone dialling quickly.

'C'mon, c'mon pick up' she muttered as she listened to the phone ringing out. Finally she got through. 'Paige, I think we're gonna have to put the Christmas decorations on hold.' She grimaced 'Again. Listen something else has come up.' She put the emphasis on the 'something,' hoping that Paige would take the hint. 'Better get here right away' she added just to be sure.


	5. Chapter 5

'Could you at least try and act normal.' Darryl hissed in frustration. 'The guys at the station already think I'm a little crazy and all you're doing is confirming their suspicions.'

'Okay I promise from now on totally normal' Paige said placatingly, as he took hold of her arm and dragged her out of earshot of the bunch of curious police officers. The officers had already finished up the initial examination, and were now standing around drinking coffee and waiting for the forensics guys to finish. Darryl was feeling decidedly uncomfortable at the whispers, the occasional bursts of laughter and the inquisitive glances that all seemed to be directed at him.

Jaw set firmly, he squared his shoulders and then walked determinedly towards the crime scene, the laughter of his fellow officers mercifully fading in to the distance. After a moment's hesitation, Paige followed him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. As they passed the ambulance where the Medical Examiner was supervising the removal of the bodies, or at least what was left of them, Paige found that she had to avert her eyes.

Darryl shook his head 'Man this one's nasty. Second one of these in as many days too. The guys at the station think we might have a serial killer on our hands.' He looked at her seriously. 'That means you need to be more careful about how you act, everyone's that much more alert on cases like these.'

'Hey I thought you said they bought the whole police psychic routine.' Paige said indignantly as she followed him across the grass, the heels of her boots sinking in to the soft ground as she walked. She frowned. They'd had a lot of rain lately and the ground was churned up from so many police and paramedics walking over it, her jeans and boots were already splattered with mud. She'd always maintained that a clothing allowance should come as part of the Charmed ones gig; she'd sure ruined plenty of good outfits in the line of duty.

'I was just embellishing my part a little, you know going for some realism' she explained to Darryl, almost apologetic. 'I thought I was helping.'

'Yeah well from now on you let me do all the talking' Darryl insisted, stopping as he reached the yellow tape, and turning back to fix her with one of his 'I mean it' looks.

Paige shrugged 'Whatever.' Glancing behind her to make sure that she was no longer being watched, she lifted up the tape that cordoned off the crime scene, and ducked underneath. Muttering something about being demoted, Darryl followed her.

'So, what do you think?' Darryl asked turning to Phoebe, who was already kneeling on the grass carefully examining the scorch marks.

Phoebe sighed heavily. 'Definitely demonic.'

'I knew it' Darryl groaned. 'Why did it have to be demonic? I mean it's Christmas don't the bad guys take time off for the holidays too?

Paige smiled ruefully. ''Fraid it doesn't work that way Darryl, but don't worry we're on to it now.' She patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. 'We'll go home, hit the Book of Shadows, we're bound to come up with something.'

'You know Cole came to see me this morning, and he said that we were in danger' Phoebe said carefully. 'I'm starting to think this could be connected.' She stood up, brushing the grass off her jeans, and turned slowly to face Paige, chewing her bottom lip nervously as she awaited the inevitable reaction.

'What!' Paige screeched. 'Your demonic ex-husband threatens you, and you don't think it's worth mentioning until now.' She shook her head in disbelief 'Honestly Phoebe I can't believe you! How are we supposed to work together if you don't tell me all the facts?'

'I know, I know, I'm sorry, I should have told you' Phoebe was contrite, 'But I'm really busy at the paper right now, the holidays always seem to make people's problems worse ya know. And then I promised Piper I'd organise the Christmas decorations at P3, and then there was this, and well I guess with everything that's been going on it just kinda slipped my mind.'

'Slipped your mind?' Paige was incredulous. 'Picking up the dry cleaning, getting the groceries, those are the kinds of things that slip your mind. Threats from indestructible demons, that one oughta stay with you.'

'Do you think you could keep your voice down?' Darryl pleaded, glancing nervously over his shoulder and noticing that they were attracting some unwanted attention from the M.E. 'You know some of the people here still think I'm a pretty normal guy and I'd kinda like to keep it that way.'

'Well I'm sorry, but hearing that Cole has threatened us isn't the kind of news I take lightly' Paige hissed.

Phoebe screwed up her face in concentration trying to remember exactly what Cole had said. She wished now that she had paid a little more attention. 'No, Cole wasn't threatening me, he was warning me. He said that we were in danger, danger that could bring an end to the Charmed Ones.'

'Phoebe, take a look around, it's not hard to figure out what went on here' Paige spoke firmly, struggling to keep her voice down. 'An entire coven taken out, no signs of a struggle, scorch marks on the ground. He's the only one we know who has that kind of power and favours energy balls as his weapon of choice, it's obvious Cole's involved.'

Phoebe shook her head, 'No, it doesn't make any sense. If Cole wanted to destroy us why not do that, destroy us? Why take out a coven? And why come and warn me about it? Besides Cole's obsessed with getting me back, there's no way he'd pull a stunt like this now.'

Paige shrugged. 'Cole's crazy, he's capable of doing anything right now.' She hesitated, seeking inspiration 'I don't know, maybe, maybe this is part of some grand demonic plan to get you back.' She looked at Phoebe triumphantly 'Maybe he's gonna try and blackmail you in to a relationship, did ya think of that? The way I see it, the sooner we figure out a way to vanquish Cole the better.'

'Okay, well do ya think you could do that someplace else?' Darryl asked hopefully, as he turned to walk back to his car. 'Cause I think we've outstayed our welcome here. The guys are starting to get curious and I'm fresh out of explanations.'

'Wait a minute.' Phoebe said, putting out a hand to stop him. 'I think I found something.' Bending forwards she stooped to retrieve the pendant that was lying in the grass. Instantly a barrage of uncontrollable images hit her. In a matter of seconds it was over, leaving Phoebe's senses reeling.

'A premonition?' Paige asked eagerly, taking hold of Phoebe's arm to steady her.

Still dazed, Phoebe nodded mutely, slowly opening her eyes to meet Paige's excited gaze.

'So what did you see?' Paige asked impatiently.


	6. Chapter 6

As he paced up and down the waiting room, Leo Wyatt felt increasingly uneasy. An emergency summit meeting with only the top level Elders in attendance could only mean that something major was on the cards, and since they'd summoned him, that something major obviously involved the Charmed Ones.

Nervously he ran his finger around the collar of his robes, which this afternoon seemed to be even more unbearable than usual. He wished that he were wearing his normal clothes, but showing up to a meeting of this magnitude wearing jeans was unheard of. Sure Leo had broken some major rules during his time as a whitelighter, but that was one rule he wasn't prepared to break- at least not yet.

He checked his watch. They'd been in there for hours now and he was still waiting to be called. Leo sighed heavily. Piper would be going crazy wondering what was keeping him, and who knew what kind of trouble she would be getting in to left to her own devices. He knew that she was going stir crazy being sidelined from the action, but she couldn't seem to see that it was for the best, the best for the baby. Piper seemed to think that she could just carry on as normal, running the club, running the Manor, and fighting the constant stream of demons and warlocks hell bent on hurting their unborn magical child. She was probably down there right now cleaning up the Manor, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or even worse scrying for demons, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

He knew that he hadn't been spending enough time with her lately, but it was the price he had to pay if he was gonna take time off after the baby was born. He'd already talked to his bosses about paternity leave, and this was the best he and they could come up with to solve the problem. He had to admit he was a little nervous now that the birth was so near. Their child would be special, and he and Piper had a huge responsibility to ensure that the child remained safe from the forces of evil. The Elders had already explained to him exactly how special this child might be. They had also warned him about the very real danger they would face, particularly around the time of the birth, when both Piper and the baby would be most vulnerable. He wished that the Elders would hurry up and call him in at least then he would know what they were facing this time. Sitting around waiting had given his imagination more than enough time to conjure up all manner of horrors, and it was doing nothing to soothe his already frazzled nerves.

Frustrated he slumped back down in the white leather chair and picked up the magazine that he'd been half-heartedly flipping through. He smiled ruefully. The magazine was years out of date. The Elders really ought to update their reading material if they were gonna keep a guy waiting around this long. Just when Leo had given up hope of making it home in time for dinner, the white door in front of him opened. Michael, an elderly whitelighter who had a shock of snowy white hair and a beard to match, beckoned for Leo to enter. 'These are bad times Leo, bad times' he said gravely, patting Leo on the shoulder as he ushered him in to the meeting room.

Hearing the front door bang shut, Piper hurriedly gathered together the paper and candles, and stuffed them in to the bottom of the trunk.

'Piper! Could you come down here for a second!' Phoebe yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

'Coming!' Piper answered, closing the Book of Shadows and placing it back on the stand. Her eyes scanned the attic, checking that everything was as it should be. Once she was satisfied that all the evidence was safely hidden, she pulled the door closed, and headed down the stairs. 'Alright, what's the emergency?' She looked expectantly at Phoebe.

'Erm okay, well the thing is Piper …' Phoebe began hesitantly. This had to be handled very carefully. Piper had been so tetchy lately and she really wasn't gonna take this well. Perhaps they should have bomb proofed the house first; they couldn't afford for Piper to damage any more furniture if she lost her temper again.

Phoebe looks tired. Piper thought, amazed that she hadn't noticed anything sooner. Still it wasn't surprising, Phoebe had been working way too hard lately what with her work at the paper, and covering for her at the club. Piper instantly felt guilty for judging her earlier. She really needs to slow down, and with all the nightmares she's been having she hasn't been sleeping properly. Piper resolved to try to ease up on Phoebe a little.

Oblivious to Piper's concern, Phoebe tried again 'The thing is…' She looked at Paige signalling with her eyes that she needed help.

'I think maybe you should sit down' Paige suggested helpfully, taking Piper's arm and steering her towards the couch.

'Yes Paige is right' Phoebe said hurriedly. 'You should sit down, and how about some tea? Paige, why don't you make some tea? Would ya like some tea sweetie?' She asked Piper hopefully.

'No I would not like some tea, and I don't want to sit down' Piper snapped, aware that she was being fobbed off yet again, and instantly forgetting her decision to lay off Phoebe. She removed Paige's hand from her arm. 'What I want is for the two of you to tell me what's going on.' She looked at them fiercely, arms folded defiantly across her chest. 'So, who's gonna start?'

'Piper I really think you should sit down' Paige interjected.

Piper glared at her. 'Paige if you say that one more time I'm gonna…'

'Okay' Phoebe interrupted a little too brightly, jumping in between her warring sisters. 'Okay Piper you see the thing is, we got a little trouble.'

'Trouble? Piper asked suspiciously, wondering what disaster had befallen P3 since she had left it at lunchtime. In the two weeks that Phoebe had been in charge it had been one calamity after another. Her eyes flicked nervously between Phoebe and Paige trying valiantly to determine what they were keeping from her this time. 'What kind of trouble?'

Phoebe took a deep breath before answering 'the demonic kind. But it's nothing for you to worry about.'

To Phoebe's surprise Piper's face lit up in a smile. 'Demonic trouble. Oh well that's great! Paige upstairs Book of Shadows, Phoebe fill me in' she ordered. 'Watcha got? Demons? Warlocks? Darklighters?' she rubbed her hands together in glee. 'No wait don't tell me it's the Grimlocks, they're back again right?' Catching Phoebe's bemused expression she continued babbling 'No, okay well you know what, doesn't matter whatever it is I'm ready for 'em.' She rolled up her sleeves in anticipation 'Oooh I can't wait to go kick some demon ass!'

'Piper, are you feeling okay?' Paige asked anxiously, moving forward to place a hand on Piper's forehead. She turned to Phoebe 'You know she does feel kinda warm, maybe she has a fever, I think she might be delirious.'

'Paige I do not have a fever and I am not delirious.' Piper snapped impatiently 'I'm just sick of sitting around here all day with nothing to do, and now I have something to do, so lets get on and do it. Come on' she ordered 'I need details, and so far you haven't told me squat.'

'No and we're not going to.' Phoebe insisted firmly. 'The only reason we're telling you anything is so that you'll understand why Leo has to orb you,' her voice softened and she broke in to a goofy smile 'and my precious little niece here' she reached forward and rubbed Piper's stomach affectionately, 'up to the Elders until we get this whole mess straightened out.'

'What!' Piper screeched. Instinctively both Phoebe and Paige ducked, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Paige hoped it wasn't the clock again, last time the repairs had run in to triple figures. To their relief Piper didn't use her powers; instead she slapped Phoebe's hand away, and angrily straightened her sweater, which Phoebe's overenthusiastic rubbing had displaced.

She looked haughtily at her sister. 'Phoebe Halliwell don't you dare even say that. There's no way I'm going anywhere, especially if you think we're in that much danger. You're gonna need the power of three and you know it.'

'See' Paige smirked. 'I told you she'd say that. And by the way, she does have a point.'

'Exactly.' Piper agreed, pleased. 'I have a point, and it's a very good point.'

'You're also carrying a very special baby' Phoebe reminded her sagely. 'And isn't it possible that this is another attempt to hurt your baby, and that the very thing the bad guys want is for you to get involved?'

'Also a very good point' Paige acknowledged, ignoring Piper's incensed look.

'So' Phoebe continued triumphantly 'If you could just make your way upstairs, get started on that packing, and I'll tell Leo to..' She looked around suddenly puzzled 'Wait where is Leo? I thought he was meant to be spending the day with you?'

'So did I' Piper groused. 'But they called him away this morning and I haven't seen him since.' She didn't fail to notice the knowing look that passed between Phoebe and Paige. 'And obviously' she said slowly, comprehension dawning, 'judging by the looks on your faces, you think that, that is in some way connected. So I think one of you had better tell me what's going on don't you?'

'Okay' Phoebe conceded 'The thing is…'

'We're in big trouble' Leo announced orbing in behind Phoebe.

**To be continued …..**


	7. Chapter 7

**Just wanted to thank everyone for the kind reviews. I'm one of those writers that gets a real buzz out of reader feedback, and it really does get me motivated to keep writing. I'd better let you know that you're letting yourselves in for a fairly lengthy story here. I have twenty-four chapters already written and ready to post, currently working on number twenty-five. I have all the plot points worked out and I guess I probably need about five more chapters to tie up all the loose ends so it'll probably run to about thirty chapters. I 'm hoping to finish it fairly soon and I promise I'll try to update pretty regularly (my main reason for writing most of this before posting anything). Those of you who want to know more about Prue's death don't worry; we're getting to that. I promise all will be revealed – eventually**

**Anyway here is the next chapter -enjoy**

The energy ball hit the demon square in the chest and he exploded in a blaze of flames and screaming agony. 'I told you before, stop wasting my time' Cole snarled.

'Now' he turned to the suitably nervous looking dark haired warlock seated opposite him on the leather couch, 'I trust you have something useful to tell me.'

'Ye… yes my liege' the Warlock stuttered keeping his head bowed.

'Good' Cole nodded his approval. Heading over to the drinks cabinet he poured himself a generous whiskey. Ignoring the Warlock he strode over to the window and stared out at the city. It was strange looking at the people way down below on the street, all going about their daily lives with no real idea of what was going on around them, no knowledge of the magical world at all. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to be one of them. He smiled wistfully. If he and Phoebe had been just another normal couple they'd still be together right now, probably spending the afternoon buying last minute Christmas gifts before curling up together on the couch.

Tentatively the Warlock cleared his throat, wondering if Cole had forgotten about him. Startled Cole turned around to face him 'Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? Would you like a drink?' he asked, suddenly the charming benevolent host.

'Well ye…yes' the Warlock stammered, unnerved by the unexpected change in Cole's demeanour.

Cole smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. 'Well in that case you'd better start talking otherwise you'll never have another drink ever again. I hope I'm making myself clear?'

'Two covens have been destroyed, the one that aligns itself with the element fire, and the one that is associated with spirit' the Warlock said quickly, cowering under Cole's fierce scrutiny. 'The protective shield is still holding, but it's not as strong.'

'Good, that's good work' Cole acknowledged, pleased with the information. He took a sip of his whisky, savouring the burning sensation as the liquid slid down his throat. 'You know this really is good stuff' he acknowledged, and with a wave of his left hand he conjured up a second bottle. Then remembering that he had company, he turned to the Warlock all business again 'Okay what I need you to do is find out the location of the next coven.'

The Warlock nodded his understanding 'Yes my liege.'

'Now' Cole roared impatiently.

Not even bothering to watch as the Warlock blinked out, Cole shook his head in disgust. Amateurs, he was surrounded by amateurs.

'According to the Elders, the five covens form a pentagram with the Manor situated exactly in the centre' Leo explained carefully. 'The covens are bonded together by powerful magic, and each coven member bears the mark of the coven in the form of a tattoo on their left wrist. The ritualised branding is what binds them together, and when they work in harmony they create a protective shield around the Manor. It makes your powers stronger, and it's more difficult for demons and warlocks to attack. It's one of the reasons why the Manor is the place where you're the strongest.'

He paused momentarily, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to stave off the exhaustion he was feeling. It had been a long and difficult discussion with the Elders, and that was only the beginning of their problems.

'You mean it's like the nexus?' Phoebe asked from her seat on the arm of the couch.

'Sort of.' Leo scratched his head, trying to think of a better way of explaining what the Elders had just told him. 'Think of it as a kind of Wiccan defence system, a little extra firepower for the forces of good' he suggested.

He paused again, but this time looked intently at each of the girls in turn, to make sure that the gravity of his words was sinking in. 'It works to maintain the balance of power between good and evil, to ensure that the power of three is always a match for the evil beings that might try to destroy you.'

'So this is it' Phoebe said glumly. 'This is what the dreams were warning me about. The dreams that you told me were nothing to worry about' she looked at Leo accusingly.

'C'mon Phoebe we don't know that the dreams have any connection to this at all.' Leo protested.

'Okay, but we do know that this is serious' Phoebe responded. 'That we're in real danger?'

'Yes' Leo admitted reluctantly.

'So how come we never knew anything about this before? There's nothing in the Book of Shadows about a network of covens or a protective shield' Paige exclaimed angrily. She felt a little cheated. She'd studied the book from cover to cover and there hadn't even been a hint of this. She wondered resentfully what other secrets the Elders were keeping from them.

'Well didn't you ever wonder how you were linked to the covens in the area?' Leo asked in exasperation, tiredness and worry making him irritable. 'Didn't it occur to you that they might have a role to play in the greater scheme of things?'

'I guess we never really thought about it' Piper admitted softly. 'I mean I knew that there were other covens in San Francisco, but the idea that they were giving us some sort of magical energy boost, never even crossed my mind.' She frowned. 'How come mom never told us about this, or grams? This is the sorta thing we really should know about.'

Leo shrugged 'Maybe they didn't know' he said reasonably. 'Or maybe they figured it was safer to keep it quiet to stop evil finding out about it.'

'Well someone's obviously found out about it now' Paige said bitterly. 'So Leo what happens if all five covens are destroyed?' she asked.

'The Elders aren't sure' Leo admitted reluctantly. 'There's never been an instance of this happening before, there's no way of knowing what the magical fall out might be.'

'Not sure' Piper fumed, throwing up her hands in disgust. Instinctively Phoebe grabbed hold of Piper's hands, hoping to avoid any explosions.

'It's their job to be sure.' Piper continued, signalling to Phoebe that she had her temper under control. Tentatively Phoebe let go of Piper's hands.

'What else do they have to do all day?' Piper asked. 'Except sit up there on their asses and make up stupid rules, they're pretty darned good at that!'

'Ssshh honey, calm down' Leo said looking up nervously. 'They might hear you.'

'I don't care if they hear me. In fact I want them to hear me' Piper said angrily. 'I'm carrying a magical baby here, one that the underworld wants to steal no less, and your bosses are up there sleeping on the job.'

'Piper please calm down' Leo pleaded. 'All this upset is bad for the baby.' Instinctively he reached for her stomach, but she caught hold of his hand and pushed it away.

'Don't even think about it Mister, you don't get to touch my stomach again, or any other part of me' she added giving him a meaningful look, 'until you know a whole lot more about this mystical force field thingy, and just who is trying to destroy it.' She moved away from him decisively 'So off you go, chop, chop, orb up there and get us some answers.'

Instead of orbing, Leo slumped on the couch, a wounded expression on his face. He couldn't believe that Piper was pushing him away at a time like this. They hadn't exactly been getting along that well lately, but he hadn't realised things had gotten quite this bad.

'Sorry Leo, but I agree with Piper' Phoebe said grimly, interrupting his brooding. 'We need to know what we're up against and right now we don't know anything.'

Paige shook her head in disbelief ' Phoebe what are you talking about? We know exactly who's behind this. I can't believe you still won't admit that Cole's involved. I mean he was right there in your premonition.'

'What!' Piper exclaimed in horror. 'Are you telling me that Cole's behind all this?'

Phoebe shifted uncomfortably 'Yes. No. I don't know.' She shook her head as though trying to clear the confusion. 'This morning he came to warn me. He said that we were in danger, danger that could mean the end of the Charmed Ones.'

She paused, reluctant to continue. 'Then this afternoon at the crime scene I got a premonition off a pendant that I found on the grass. Another coven was being attacked with energy balls.' She hesitated, and then after taking a deep breath said sadly 'I saw Cole there.'

'Well it sure makes sense to me' Paige said confidently. 'When are you gonna get it Phoebe? Cole is evil.' She sighed heavily. 'You know you wouldn't believe me the last time when I said that Cole was evil, and look how that turned out, you ended up being Queen of the Underworld!' She looked at Phoebe smugly. 'It'll save us a whole lot of time and energy if you'll just listen to me this time.'

'And what exactly did you have in mind?' Piper asked suspiciously.

Paige looked at her determinedly. 'Isn't it obvious? We have to vanquish Cole.'

**To be continued …**


	8. Chapter 8

**Apologies for the delay in posting I have had real problems accessing the site and haven't been able to log in all week. **

**Just want to point out that the information about the pentagram was taken from a book on Wicca. Please note that the geographical locations of the famous landmarks do not really match the points on the pentagram, I just used them to add a little colour/detail to the story, call it artistic licence. I'm English and have never been to San Francisco, so I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies in this story. I have tried to gather information from guidebooks and the internet, but have also added a little of my own imagination.**

**Anyway, on with the story…**

'But Paige aren't you forgetting one important thing? Cole's invincible' Piper said reasonably. 'Even if we wanted to vanquish him we can't.'

'Actually I'm not so sure about that' Paige argued. 'I've actually got a few ideas about how we might do it.' She grinned triumphantly. All that late night studying of the Book of Shadows had actually given her new ideas about a whole lot of things, even if she was still a little stuck when it came to her bigger project.

'What!' Phoebe yelled in disbelief, jumping up from her perch on the arm of the couch and facing Paige angrily. 'You've been working on a vanquishing potion for Cole and you didn't even bother to tell me!'

'I haven't been working on it' Paige explained carefully. 'I just said that I'd had a few ideas that's all.' She was real glad now that she hadn't told Phoebe about the other project. If this was the way Phoebe was gonna react every time she showed a little initiative it was better that she kept it to herself for now.

'When were you gonna tell me about this Paige, after you'd vanquished him?' Phoebe continued angrily. 'We're you just gonna drop it in to the conversation over breakfast -pass the Special K, and by the way Phoebe I vanquished your ex-husband yesterday.'

'No of course not' Paige said indignantly, a little hurt by Phoebe's tone. 'I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure it'd work. Geez I thought you'd be pleased, I mean you keep on saying how much you want Cole out of your life. I thought I was doing you a favour.' She eyed Phoebe suspiciously 'You are over him aren't you?'

'Of course I'm over him' Phoebe said defensively.

'Good' Paige nodded in satisfaction. 'So then what's the problem?'

'Well right now I'd say our problem is making sure that the other covens are safe wouldn't you?' Piper interrupted, deliberately breaking through the tension that had developed between her sisters. 'We can figure out what to do about Cole later.' She looked at them both meaningfully. 'So' she turned to Phoebe 'your premonition give you any idea where they might be?'

'I'm not sure.' Phoebe said closing her eyes and trying to recreate the mental picture. 'It was some kind of green house, and there were lots of flowers, all different kinds.'

'Well one of the covens is linked to the element earth, so it's likely they'd be based near an important body of earth of some kind, maybe a park or a garden' Leo suggested softly from his place on the couch, instantly grabbing their attention.

'What do you mean one of the covens is linked to earth?' Piper asked, surprised by the revelation. She eyed him suspiciously. 'How do you know that? Is that something else the Elders have been keeping from us?'

Inwardly Leo winced at the insinuation, but outwardly he chose to ignore it, he couldn't blame the girls for feeling a little resentment towards the Elders right now, especially Piper since the Elders had been keeping him away from her lately what with all the extra work he'd been assigned.

'I know because each of the points of a pentagram is aligned to a different Wiccan element' he said simply.

In response to their quizzical expressions, Leo grabbed paper and pen from the pad by the phone, and quickly drew a five-pointed star. 'Okay look, the single point at the top is traditionally associated with spirit, the point to the right is water, the two points at the bottom are fire and earth, and the one on the left is air.'

'Wait a minute' Paige said excitedly grabbing the paper off him, and looking at it more closely. 'I've seen that someplace before.' She held out her hand. 'Book of Shadows.' Obediently the book appeared in Paige's outstretched hand.

Piper opened her mouth to comment on Paige's use of magic for personal gain, but Paige cut her off 'I know you're right, personal gain, but we don't have a lot of time here. Now it's in here somewhere, I just can't remember where I saw it' she explained, taking a seat and resting the heavy book across her knees. Using both hands she leafed through the pages, until finally she found what she'd been looking for.

'I knew it' she grinned triumphantly. 'It's right here see.' She placed Leo's drawing next to an identical picture in the Book and held it out so that the others could see.

'Alright so we got a match, so what does it say?' Piper asked impatiently.

Paige read aloud from the book 'Okay, Pentagram, a Wiccan symbol for protection. To protect your home from dark magic, stand at your front door, and draw the sign of the pentagram on the ground. Place items associated with the appropriate element at each point of the star. A feather can be used to denote spirit, a small bowl of water to symbolise water, a candle for fire, for earth a small bowl of earth, and for air an empty bowl. Ensure that the pentagram is drawn with the single point at the top to signify good magic. The inverse pentagram is a sign of dark magic.'

'So' Piper said slowly, talking out her thought process 'if each of these covens is acting as a point on one gigantic pentagram, and we can identify which element that coven today was aligned with, then using that location as a start point, we should be able to figure out the general location of the other points…'

'And then all we have to do is identify the major landmarks that correspond to each of the remaining elements, and I'll betcha that's where we'll find our covens.' Paige finished for her excitedly.

'Right' Piper said, taking charge. 'So what we need is a map'.

'Map' Paige commanded holding out her hands, and ignoring Piper's frown. The large map that they used for scrying appeared in Paige's arms, and she placed it on the coffee table.

Piper leaned across the table studying the map 'Okay so here's the Manor.' Leo handed her his pen and she drew a circle around the location of the Manor.

'And this is where the coven was taken out last night' Paige said pointing to a location below and to the right of the Manor.

'Alright' Piper marked the location with her pen. ' So what element do you think that point corresponds to? Think. Did you notice anything when you were at the crime scene that might tell us?'

Paige closed her eyes for a moment trying to picture the crime scene. She tried hard to imagine it without all the cops and the yellow crime tape. 'It was in a clearing at the top of the hill, there were rocks and trees and the ground was all kinda messed up.' She frowned. 'I don't know, I mean I guess that could mean air or earth…'

'Fire. It was fire.' Phoebe said suddenly, surprising them.

'Are you sure?' Piper asked, looking a little sceptical. 'I mean from Paige's description it could be anything.'

Phoebe nodded. 'Yeah, but thinking back I'm sure I saw the remains of a fire near the centre of the clearing, and I don't mean the scorch marks, this was something different.'

'Okay then.' Piper wrote 'F' next to the circle that she had just drawn. 'So now we know roughly where the pentagram is, and the general location of each point, we just need to find the appropriate landmarks in each area.'

'Golden Gate Park, the conservatory at Golden Gate Park, that's what I saw in my premonition' Phoebe said excitedly. 'I thought it seemed odd all those different flowers.' She stabbed a finger at the map. 'It's in the right location and it's a pretty significant body of earth.'

Obediently Piper drew a circle where Phoebe was pointing, and wrote 'E' next to it. They all looked at the map in silence for a moment, thinking about the nameless Witches who had already lost their lives to help the Charmed Ones in the fight against evil.

'Wait a minute.' Paige said, suddenly remembering an earlier conversation. 'At the crime scene Darryl said that this was the second one of these incidents. That means that two covens have already been destroyed.' She looked worriedly at the others 'You know what that means?'

**To be continued ….**


	9. Chapter 9

**Once again apologies for the delay in posting, this has been due to access problems. I have not been able to log in to the site all week, which has been incredibly frustrating as the chapter has been sitting here ready to go. Thanks for sticking with it, and in particular thanks to peanut 2lb for recommending my story to others. Hopefully my internet problems will soon be sorted out. Anyway here is the next instalment.**

'We don't have much time.' Phoebe said anxiously.

'I'll check with the Elders see if they know anything more' Leo decided, snapping everyone in to action.

'Right and while you're doing that, we'll go rescue the coven from Phoebe's premonition' Piper said excitedly. She turned to her sisters and beckoned impatiently 'Come on people let's go, we've got a coven to save.'

'Oh no you don't' Phoebe insisted. 'You're staying right here.'

'Oh c'mon Phoebe you've gotta be kidding me' Piper whined. 'This is the first piece of action I've heard about for weeks, you can't leave me behind, you wouldn't be so cruel.'

'Oh yes I would' Phoebe answered determinedly. 'This is exactly the kind of stress that you have to avoid right now, it's not good for the baby.'

'But you need me. You can't take on Cole without the power of three' Piper protested. 'He's indestructible remember.'

'Exactly' Phoebe agreed. 'Right now even if we wanted to' she shot Paige a dark look 'we can't vanquish Cole, not even with the power of three. So there's really no reason for you to go putting yourself or the baby at risk is there?'

'But I wouldn't be putting myself at risk' Piper said sulkily. 'Hello, indestructible.' She looked at the others, a smug expression on her face 'is anybody else indestructible? All those people in the room who are currently indestructible raise your hands.'

Piper raised her hand, and made a show of looking around the room. 'Well I can only see one hand in the air, and that's mine.' She started to head for the door 'Maybe it's you two who should be staying home.'

'Piper you're eight months pregnant for God's sake, you shouldn't be chasing after demons, you should be home resting' Phoebe insisted, grabbing hold of Piper's arm to stop her.

'But I feel fine. I don't need to rest' Piper protested. 'What about you Paige? Do you think I should stay home too? She asked archly, turning to her youngest sister.

'Oh great' Paige grumbled 'Way to put me in the middle.'

Phoebe looked meaningfully at Paige. Stubbornly Paige shook her head, prompting Phoebe to glare at her. Paige pulled a face. Phoebe had gotten it in to her head that Piper should spend the last few weeks of her pregnancy doing nothing more dangerous than sitting around watching soaps on TV. Paige thought she was crazy, they needed Piper more now than ever before, and having someone on your team who was indestructible was a hell of an asset when it came to fighting demons.

'C'mon Paige the meter's running here' Piper prompted, abruptly ending Paige's thinking time.

Paige risked one final glance at Phoebe and then wished she hadn't. Phoebe was looking at her pleadingly, all doe eyed. Paige sighed heavily. She knew how important this was to Phoebe. They were already at loggerheads over Cole, and she didn't want to give her sister another reason to be mad at her.

Finally she turned to face Piper. 'Nice try Piper, but it won't work' she said reluctantly. 'I mean out there in the park, and you know it's gonna be dark soon, could be pretty hard going. In fact ya know what, we'll probably have to run most of the time, and with all those extra pounds you're carrying around the middle these days' she patted Piper's stomach, 'you'll just slow us down.'

'But…' Piper protested, looking down at her stomach and then back at Paige, a hurt expression on her face.

'No buts, you're staying right here, two against one majority rules' Phoebe said, firmly. She shot a grateful glance at Paige who gave her a resigned smile in return.

Phoebe turned back to Piper 'So Piper, while we go rescue the coven I want you to relax, put your feet up, and take good care of my little niece.' As she spoke, she gently pushed Piper backwards on to the couch, and lifted up Piper's feet so that they were propped up on the coffee table. Then she flicked on the TV and put the remote in Piper's right hand.

'Now where did you leave your box of cookies? I know it's here somewhere.' She looked around her trying to remember, and then spotted it. 'Ah there it is' she put the box on the table in front of Piper who glared at her.

'Look all we're gonna do is find the coven and bring them back here for protection okay, it's no big deal.' Phoebe said hurriedly, attempting to placate her older sister. You're really not gonna miss much.'

'But I wanna help' Piper protested 'I can't just sit around here watching TV now I know that there's a coven in danger.'

Seeing the desperation in her sister's eyes, Phoebe relented a little. 'Okay, if you really wanna help, call Daryl and find out the location of the other coven that got destroyed. If we know which covens are still active it'll save us some time.'

'Ready to go?' Paige interrupted, wanting to get out of there quickly before she changed her mind.

'Ready' Phoebe nodded.

'No. Wait. I don't have to run, I can still help' Piper shouted after them as they orbed out. 'Just point me in the right direction and leave me there. You know you can't do this without me. You need me' she protested ineffectually. 'I'm the one with all the firepower remember.'

She waited hopefully for the tell tale blue orbs that would indicate their return, but saw nothing. It was no good, her sisters were long gone and they weren't coming back for her. Depressed she slumped back on the couch, and then she had an idea. 'Quick Leo, orb me after them' she demanded grabbing hold of the front of his shirt.

But Leo merely shook his head apologetically. 'I'm sorry Piper, but the Elders are calling, maybe they have the answers to some of your questions.' Seconds later he too had disappeared, leaving her grasping on to nothing.

'You liar.' Piper yelled after him in frustration 'Call yourself my husband, you're supposed to be on my side.'

Left alone on the couch she frowned, still feeling the bitter sting of Paige's words. 'Too slow huh, a few extra pounds around the middle huh.' She looked down at her stomach thoughtfully, twisting and turning to view it from several different angles. 'It's really not so big' she consoled herself. 'Hell with the right outfit you'd hardly even know I was pregnant.'

Not in the mood for TV, she switched off the set. Bored and restless, she looked around the room for something to do, and then she saw it, Paige's favourite sweater flung carelessly over the back of the couch. Piper eyed it for a moment considering.

'I'll show you a few extra pounds missy' she muttered determinedly. 'When you see me in this you'll have to take back those horrible words'. After several minutes of pulling and struggling, Paige's sweater was three sizes larger and still didn't cover even half of Piper's stomach. 'Arrgh' Piper groaned in frustration finally admitting defeat. 'Who am I tryin' to kid? I'm a beach ball in a crop top.' She shook her head in disgust 'Boy I hate it when they're right.'

She scowled in frustration. Not only did they not need her, now they were suggesting that she was a liability. It was ridiculous; of the three of them she was the one with the most power right now. What was the use of being invincible and self-healing if she didn't get to join in the fight? She briefly considered going after them, showing them how useful she could be, but soon gave the idea up as hopeless. She had no way of getting there. Driving had been impossible for a few weeks now, and without Leo or Paige she had no magical means of transportation. She really was stuck here.

She sighed heavily. What to do now? Then her eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration. If they were all gonna go off and leave her here by herself then she was just gonna have to keep herself entertained until they got back. There was someone she'd been meaning to talk to, and this was just the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

**To be continued**


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a quick note to say that the information on the Victorian Green house at Golden Gate Park came from a travel guide and internet search that I did when researching the story. I have never been there, and apologise for any inaccuracies.**

'Whoah' Phoebe exclaimed, levitating out of the path of an energy ball that exploded behind her obliterating three trees and leaving a raging fire in its wake.

'Energy ball' Paige demanded holding out her hand. The energy ball that had been speeding towards her obediently appeared in the palm of her hand. She threw it back in the direction that it had come from, managing only to destroy a little more of the foliage. 'Oops' she shrugged apologetically. 'Not one of my better shots, but then it's kinda hard when you can't see what you're aiming at.'

'Just keep on deflecting them' Phoebe instructed grimly 'I need you to keep them off of me while I go get the survivors.'

'You know I'm starting to think that we should'a brought Piper after all' Paige said through gritted teeth. 'We could definitely use her firepower right now.' She looked at Phoebe eagerly 'How 'bout I orb back to the Manor and get her?'

'No.' Phoebe said stubbornly as she dodged a second energy ball, and whipped around trying desperately to figure out where it had come from. The bright sunshine of the morning had given way to a grey afternoon, and as they had been fighting, the last of the light had ebbed away. Now a cold wind whistled around them and Phoebe thought she could feel the first spots of rain.

She turned to face Paige. 'Look Paige we already talked about this. Whatever she says, Piper's vulnerable right now. The sooner she's safely up there with the Elders the better I'll feel.'

'Don't you think you're underestimating Piper?' Paige asked carefully, aware that she was on dangerous ground. 'I mean she's smart, she's not gonna do anything to put the baby at risk. She's pretty tough too, and she does have that whole invincibility thing going on.'

Phoebe opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Paige continued hurriedly 'I know we've managed without her so far, but this thing we're facing is really big and I just think that we need her this time. And' she decided to take the plunge and finally admit what had been bothering her for the last couple of weeks 'I'd hate for you to let your paranoia get in the way of saving innocents.' She looked at Phoebe anxiously, knowing that she had taken a huge risk in speaking her mind.

Phoebe sighed heavily. She should have seen this coming, Paige had been hinting at this for the last few days and it was time that she levelled with her.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 'What you're saying makes sense Paige, it really does. And you're probably right; I am a little paranoid about Piper and the baby. It's just that I've already lost one sister' she hesitated, struggling to remain in control of her emotions 'I can't lose another one.'

'Okay I get that, I do' Paige said softly as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. 'But what if you're wrong, what if this thing isn't about Piper and the baby at all, what if it's about you?'

Phoebe was so taken a back by that, she stopped checking for energy balls, and stared at Paige in surprise 'What are you talking about Paige?'

'Oh c'mon Phoebe you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Cole and his obsession with you' Paige said insistently. She knew that she was being hard on Phoebe, but it had to be done, it was the only way to get her sister to listen.

'You said it yourself he wants you back. Probably wants to try and turn you evil again, and what better way than shifting the balance of power?'

Phoebe shivered, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the wind or the rain. She didn't want to hear this. If Paige was right it meant that Cole really was evil and that he might try and turn her evil again, and she so couldn't handle that. Refusing to allow herself to even consider the possibility, she brushed away Paige's suggestion.

'Look I don't have time to argue with you right now, we've got a coven to save- or at least what's left of one.' She pointed at the two witches huddled together beside the Victorian Green house, desperately chanting a protection spell.

Paige followed Phoebe's gaze and winced as an energy ball hit the side of the Green house obliterating a large section and destroying hundreds of flowers. If she'd had time Paige would have felt sad about the Green house. It had been damaged during a terrible storm back in 1995 and had only recently re-opened to the public after a 25 million refurbishment. She wondered how much damage it would sustain tonight, and how long it would be before it re-opened.

'You know pretty soon that protective shield is gonna give way' Phoebe said.

Even as Phoebe spoke, Paige saw the purple sphere of light surrounding the witches begin to flicker and wane before extinguishing completely. 'Looks like their time just ran out' she observed. 'Alright change of plan, you draw their fire, I'll orb over there and get the witches.'

'Okay' Phoebe agreed 'But you'd better hurry.'

As Phoebe made a run to the left drawing the fire of the energy balls, Paige took a deep breath, focusing her concentration, and then orbed to the witches. She arrived just as the energy ball hit, obliterating the two remaining witches and blowing Paige in to a million tiny blue orbs.

'Paige!' Phoebe screamed as she charged across the grass slipping and sliding in the mud. So intent was she on reaching Paige that she didn't even notice that the energy balls had stopped. Blinded by tears, she didn't see Cole at all until she ran right in to him.

**To be continued …**


	11. Chapter 11

'Get out of my way Cole' Phoebe demanded, her voice dangerously low. 'I mean it.'

'Aw come on Phoebe, I thought you'd at least be happy to see me.' Cole protested, standing his ground and refusing to let her pass. As he spoke, the wind whipped around his coat, and the rain, which had been a light drizzle, began in earnest. To Phoebe it seemed as though the darkness surrounding her had suddenly become darker and more oppressive.

She stared at him in disbelief 'Why would I be happy to see you Cole? You just killed those witches and now you've hurt Paige.' Frantically she peered over his shoulder Paige had reformed, and was lying on the grass beside the Green house, unconscious. She had to get there and fast, but first she had to get away from Cole.

'Wait a minute, you think I killed those witches?' Cole asked incredulously. 'How could you think that Phoebe? I'm good now I told you that.'

Phoebe threw up her hands in despair; she didn't have time for this. 'You're not good Cole, you could never be good. You're a demon remember.'

'Half demon' Cole corrected her sourly. 'And technically I'm not even sure if I am actually demon anymore, but obviously that doesn't matter to you.' Hurt, he turned his back on her, striding away from her across the grass.

For some reason that she couldn't quite explain, Phoebe felt compelled to follow him. She took off, hurrying to match his long determined strides. Finally she caught up with him. Tentatively she reached out, touched his shoulder, and forced him to face her. 'Demon, half-demon, whatever you want to call yourself it doesn't matter Cole, it doesn't change who you are.'

'And who am I Phoebe?' he asked desperately, his eyes searching her face for answers.

Phoebe shook her head. 'I don't know anymore Cole' she said sadly. 'That's the problem.' She took a step back, psyching herself up, preparing to levitate over him and make a run for Paige who was now only a few metres away.

Before she could jump, Cole grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her in close 'Look Phoebe, I didn't hurt those witches, this is nothing to do with me I promise.'

Phoebe sighed heavily, and pushed her rain sodden hair away from her face. 'Then why are you here Cole? It's a hell of a coincidence don't ya think?' Her voice came out shrill, almost hysterical. Anxiously she risked another glance at Paige. She was wasting precious seconds; seconds that Paige couldn't afford to lose.

'I'm here because of you Phoebe' Cole said simply, still holding on to her. 'I came here to protect you. You have to believe me.'

Phoebe pushed him away 'No I don't have to believe you Cole. I don't have to do anything, except get down there and save my sister.'

Cole was fast running out of patience 'Look I can help you' he snapped. 'Just let me help you, and then you'll see that I'm telling the truth.'

'I don't need your help Cole.' Phoebe protested, marching away from him towards Paige, who still hadn't moved.

'Oh yeah' Cole called after her. 'What about Paige? How are you gonna get her back to the Manor?' He looked around mock dramatically 'I don't see a car parked around here anywhere.'

'Dammit.' Phoebe cursed, he was right, Paige had orbed them here, and she sure wasn't in any condition to orb them back. Then she smiled. 'Leo!' she shouted, folding her arms across her chest and giving Cole a smug, self-satisfied smile. The smile didn't last 'God damn it Leo, where are you?' she shouted. 'Leo, come on!' she tried again.

Cole shrugged 'Looks like your whitelighter is temporarily unavailable' he said. 'But I'm still here.'

She closed her eyes in frustration, and then drew in a long deep breath. Releasing it slowly, she turned back to face him. 'Alright you win' she said finally. 'I need you to take us back to the Manor- I just hope the shock doesn't send Piper in to premature labour.'

Cole grinned broadly 'I knew you'd see it my way. You're doing the right thing Phoebe, you'll see.'

'I hope so' Phoebe muttered under her breath.

'Hear these words.

Hear my cries.

Spirit from the other side

Come to me I summon thee

Cross the great divide.'

Piper watched in nervous anticipation as a tiny white orb of light floated in the centre of the attic. It circled the room and then split in to a dozen white spheres that whizzed around her head like a swarm of bees, before coalescing in the centre of the room. Piper held her breath as the light slowly began to take form. She could hardly believe it, any moment now it would happen.

Gradually the blurred form began to take shape. 'Prue' Piper gasped, hardly able to breathe. 'I can't believe you're actually here.'

**To be continued ...**


	12. Chapter 12

'Sorry dear, but it's just me.'

'Grams!' Piper howled in frustration, her euphoria deflating like a balloon. 'What are you doing here?' She demanded.

'Stopping you from making a big mistake.' Grams replied primly.

Piper stared at her in confusion and then looked back at the notes she held in her hand, the notes she had scribbled for the spell. It didn't make any sense; she'd followed them to the letter. Puzzled she looked back at Grams 'But I called specifically for Prue, how did you ..'

'How did I know?' Grams asked looking smug. 'Well I intercepted your call of course. Honestly Piper, what were you thinking?' she admonished.

Chastened Piper looked down at the floor, focusing hard on the flame that flickered on the white candle in the very centre of the room. 'I just wanted to talk to her' she muttered. 'I miss her so much, and I really need her.'

'I know you miss her, but I'm sorry Piper, you can't see Prue right now.' Grams said her voice firm but tinged with sadness.

'Why not?' Piper asked, tears pricking her eyes. She felt a sudden lurch of panic 'Is she hurt? Is she in trouble?'

Grams shook her head 'Don't be ridiculous, she's perfectly fine.'

'Then why won't you let me see her? What are you hiding from me?' A sudden realisation hit 'She doesn't want to see me does she? Piper asked sadly. 'That's what you're not telling me. If she'd wanted to see me she coulda done it by now.' She continued in a small voice 'she's mad at me isn't she. She's mad at me because it was my fault that she died.'

'Your fault?' Grams asked in surprise. 'Why is it your fault?'

'Because it wasn't Prue who was supposed to die, it was meant to be me.' Piper said softly. She'd been living with the guilt for so long now, but this was the first time that she had actually admitted it out loud. She had been afraid that if she said it aloud it really would be true.

'Piper dear what on earth are you talking about?' Grams asked. 'You're not making any sense.'

'I got shot and I died and Cole got Tempus to reverse time to save me.' Piper said listlessly. She felt as bad now as she had when Phoebe had first told her what had happened. 'If he hadn't done that, then I'd be dead and Prue would still be here.'

'Oh Piper is that what you think?' Grams' voice was filled with compassion for her granddaughter. She was furious with herself. How could she have been so stupid? Of course Piper blamed herself, Phoebe probably did too, it was called survivor's guilt. She should know, she'd felt it keenly enough when she'd lost Patty.

'Oh Piper I'm so sorry.' She wished that she could hug her granddaughter, but since she had no material presence on this plain, physical contact was impossible. 'I didn't realise you felt this way. I would never have let you go on thinking that for so long if I'd known.'

'Why not? It's the truth.' Piper said bitterly. 'It doesn't matter what anyone says, you can't change the facts. Prue died to save me.'

'No dear' Grams said firmly 'Prue died because it was her time to die. It was meant to be. I told you at the time, everything happens for a reason, and you have to understand that Prue's death served a larger purpose. It was the role Prue was destined to play. It had to happen.'

'No it didn't' Piper shouted, feeling all the anger and resentment building up inside her again. 'There was no reason. What reason could there possibly be? Surely Prue could do more good if she were still alive?'

Grams shook her head impatiently 'Piper you're not seeing the bigger picture. Prue had to die to allow other things to happen, things that will impact upon the future.'

'What things?' Piper demanded angrily. She'd never gotten a proper answer from Grams about Prue's death. All she'd gotten were platitudes and cryptic comments about the future. Well she was sick of all the mystery and of Grams' continual attempts to evade the issue. Tonight she wanted answers and she wasn't gonna let it drop until she'd gotten them.

Grams hesitated for a moment, and looked at Piper carefully, trying to gauge her mood. Perhaps it was time she told her granddaughter the truth; she'd kept it hidden long enough. Patty had wanted to tell the girls everything when Prue died, but she'd counselled her daughter against it. The girls just weren't ready; it was too soon, the emotion was still too raw.

Things were different now, Piper was the oldest, and she had developed an inner strength and confidence that had never been allowed to surface whilst Prue was alive. Piper already knew about Paige's existence, maybe now she was finally ready to hear the whole story.

'Paige' Grams said evenly. 'If Prue hadn't died, you wouldn't have cast the spell to find a lost witch and Paige would never have taken her place as one of the Charmed Ones, she would have remained hidden from the Elders for ever.'

Piper shook her head in confusion. 'Wait a minute, I don't understand, are you telling me that Prue died because of Paige? That the Elders took Prue away from us because they wanted us to find Paige?'

'Yes I suppose I am saying that' Grams said softly, watching her granddaughter carefully, knowing that these words would be painful to hear.

Piper swallowed hard fighting a sudden wave of nausea. This was such an unexpected turn of events that she didn't know what to think. For the past two years she had blamed herself for Prue's death, now Grams was telling her that it was the Elders' doing, that they had actually made sure that Leo's healing powers hadn't worked.

She felt an incredible sense of hatred towards the Elders and their decision to play God, to trade one sister's life for another as if they were mere pawns in some mystical game. What right did they have to decide who got to live and who got to die?

'Wait a minute' Piper said, screwing up her face in confusion. 'I don't understand. The Elders didn't even know about Paige, how could they be looking for her? I mean mom and Sam deliberately kept Paige hidden from them, they didn't even know mom was pregnant.'

'Yes and for many years Paige's existence remained a secret. We had her adopted and even we didn't know where she was.' Grams looked wistful for a moment, lost in the memory, but she quickly got herself together. 'Then a few months before Prue died word reached the Elders that there had been a fourth baby.'

'How did they find out?' Piper asked, intrigued.

Grams shrugged 'they were keeping tabs on Sam, they were afraid of exposure. A fallen whitelighter is a dangerous prospect, especially a down on his luck drunk. Many a true word is spoken under the influence of alcohol.' She sniffed disapprovingly. 'I should know my second husband was never without the smell of alcohol on his breath..'

'Grams' Piper interrupted impatiently. 'About Sam?'

'Yes well it seems Sam got careless. The Elders overheard him talking about the daughter he'd been forced to give up. It didn't take them long to figure it out. They were afraid that the dark side would hear of this, and would try to find Paige first, convince her to use her powers for evil. As a half- whitelighter they thought she might be able to orb up there and attack them.'

'They were afraid of her?' Piper asked, looking at Grams in amazement.

Grams shifted awkwardly and looked away. 'They were afraid of the possibilities.'

Piper shook her head. 'But that still doesn't explain why Prue had to die. Why not just tell us about Paige and have us cast the spell? It doesn't make any sense. I mean surely four Charmed Ones are better than three?'

'No I'm afraid it doesn't work that way Piper' Grams said sadly. 'Believe me I wish it did, but your power is the power of three. Three is a sacred number with magical properties. There can only ever be three Charmed Ones. The Elders decided that the third sister should be Paige not Prue.

'Well that's just not good enough' Piper complained. 'I don't accept that.' She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Grams.

For a moment Grams was fondly reminded of Piper as a young child. Although shy and often hidden in the shadow of the more confident Prue, Piper had always been stubborn. When she'd made her mind up about something that was it, there was no changing it. She'd dig her heels in and refuse to budge, and once she folded her arms like that and got that look in her eye, the look she had now, you knew you had a battle on your hands.

'I'm afraid you have to accept it Piper' she said stoically.

Piper was shaking with anger and shock. She just couldn't believe this was happening. It had taken her so long to accept Paige in to the family. She hadn't wanted a new sister; she'd wanted Prue back. It had been so hard to open up her heart, to accept another person in to her life. At first she'd felt it would be betraying Prue, but eventually she had come to love her youngest sister. How was she supposed to feel about Paige now, knowing that she was the real reason for Prue's death?

'I know you don't like it Piper, but the Elders didn't have a choice' Grams continued hurriedly, sensing Piper's anger. 'They had to take Prue so that you and Phoebe could find Paige and form a new power of three. There really wasn't another way.'

'But they let her die' Piper sobbed, pain rapidly replacing anger. 'After everything she did for them, they just let her die.'

Grams sighed heavily. 'This is a war Piper, a war against evil. In battle you have to make sacrifices, that's what war is all about. Prue's life was sacrificed for the greater good, something you and Phoebe were prepared to do not so long ago if I remember correctly.'

Piper bit her lip knowing that Grams was right. When Prue and one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse had been accidentally sent to an alternate dimension she and Phoebe had ultimately agreed to sacrifice Prue's life in order to thwart the horsemen's attempt to destroy the world. It hadn't been an easy decision, and even now if she had to make the decision again, Piper wasn't sure if she could do it.

They had made the ultimate sacrifice, but they had been lucky. The Source had intervened, killing his own assassins before the Charmed Ones could finish the job, and they'd gotten Prue back. Still it had been a tough time for all of them. It had taken Piper and Phoebe a long time to come to terms with their decision, and although Prue had understood, even agreed that it had been the right thing to do, the relationship between Prue and her younger sisters had been a little strained for weeks afterwards.

Piper hated to be reminded of the incident, particularly as it gave the Elders a get out clause. How could she be mad at them for doing something she herself had done? Still the incident with the horsemen had been a matter of life and death. Leaving Prue to die had been the only way to ensure that the fourth horseman couldn't rejoin his team. Keeping the horsemen apart had been the only way to stop the Apocalypse, but she still didn't see why Prue had to die so that Paige could replace her. Why couldn't she just retire and live a normal life? Now that they had Paige there was no reason for Prue to stay away.

'News flash Grams, we found Paige' Piper said irritably. She swiped at the hot tears that trickled down her cheek. 'We've become the new power of three. So you can go tell them that they can send Prue back now, they've got what they wanted.' There was a challenge in her voice and she couldn't help looking up at the ceiling, wondering if they were up there, listening.

Grams shook her head. 'I'm sorry Piper, but it's not that simple. You can't bring someone back, not when they've passed over to this side it just isn't possible. Prue learned to accept death. She came to realise that it was the one thing she couldn't fight.' She looked at Piper reprovingly 'Prue taught you that herself. She accepted the loss of your mother, Andy, even her own death. I thought you'd accepted it too.'

'I had accepted it.' Piper said sulkily. 'But that was when I thought it was just an accident, but now you're telling me that the Elders deliberately took her from us. I'll never accept that.'

Grams sighed heavily. 'Oh Piper do you think I like it any better than you do? But there was no other way, Prue had to die.'

'But why did it have to be Prue?' Piper demanded. 'I mean she was the best. She was the most powerful, and the bravest and the smartest. Why not take me? I was already dead anyway.' Her words came out in a rush, and her voice was shaky with emotion.

'Because Prue had played her part, she'd carried the fight as far as she could, but you still have an important role to play.' Grams looked pointedly at Piper's stomach.

'You mean the baby?' Piper gasped. 'They took Prue instead of me because of the baby?'

Grams nodded. 'It was one of the reasons. There had to be a choice, one of you had to be sacrificed. It couldn't be Phoebe, her premonitions are the connection to your innocents, and they allow you to alter future events. So it came down to a choice between you and Prue.'

She sighed heavily, remembering the awful days of waiting whilst the Elders deliberated. No grandmother or mother for that matter should have to go through what she and Patty had gone through. In the end the decision had been clear, and whilst it was logical, it didn't make it any easier to accept.

'Once the Elders gave their blessing to your relationship with Leo, they knew that a child would soon follow. You have to remember Piper that your baby is going to be very special.'

'I know that Grams' Piper said bitterly. She knew that the Elders thought the baby was special, that she and Leo had some kind of magical responsibility; but she was sick of hearing it. The child was going to be special, but it had nothing to do with magic. The child was special to her and to Leo; because she was their child, and Piper sure as hell wasn't gonna let magic or the Elders get in the way.

'The Elders told us that the baby could be a powerful force for good.' She shrugged nonchalantly 'See I know all about it.'

'I don't think you do Piper' Grams argued. 'I don't think you really understand quite how important this child could be.'

She looked at her granddaughter intently 'Piper, your child could be the chosen one, the child written about in the prophecies, the one destined to shift the balance between good and evil.'

'Prophecies, what prophecies?' Piper asked in confusion.

Grams remained silent afraid that she had said too much already.

'Grams' Piper pressed impatiently. 'What prophecies?'

Grams took a deep breath and released it slowly, Piper had that look in her eye again, the one that meant that she wasn't gonna let this go easily. 'The prophecies of Sangrail' she said eventually.

At Piper's confused look she continued 'It's an ancient text that speaks of future events in the fight between good and evil. It's very highly regarded in Wiccan circles. I'm surprised the Elders have never mentioned it, after all they have the original copy.'

'Yeah well the Elders aren't exactly forthcoming with the information' Piper muttered, wondering if Leo knew about these prophecies. Leo had told her that the Elders thought that their child would be special, but he hadn't said she would be this special.

She looked at Grams doubtfully. 'So let me get this straight. Are you telling me that it's actually written down somewhere that my child is gonna be some all powerful entity?'

Grams hesitated for a moment before answering. 'Well not exactly; I mean the prophecies aren't that specific, these things rarely are.'

'So what exactly do these prophecies say?' Piper asked suspiciously.

'They talk of the twice blessed child and how this child will become the pivotal force in the fight between good and evil. This child will become the most powerful entity in the magical universe and will change the balance between good and evil forever' Grams said uneasily. 'But Piper you have to realise that these prophecies are thousands of years old, and there are no names and no dates, no real clue as to the identity of this child.'

'And you and the Elders think that these prophecies are referring to my baby?' Piper asked a little shakily. She looked down at her stomach wondering if she really was carrying the most powerful magical entity of all time inside it.

'We're not sure' Grams admitted. 'But surely you can see the possibilities. I mean the child of a Charmed One and a Whitelighter; it's not surprising that the Elders think that your child could be the one. And it's not just the Elders that think that, the other side think so too. Why do you think there have been so many attempts to harm your unborn child?'

Piper felt dizzy at the implications of Grams' words. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath to steady herself. Eventually she opened her eyes and looked at Grams. 'So what am I supposed to do?' She asked. 'How am I supposed to deal with this?'

Grams sighed. 'You do what you always do Piper. You protect the innocent, you fight against evil, and you keep on fighting until you can fight no more.' Her expression softened 'I know how much you miss Prue, but you have to look forward not back, now is not the time to think about the past, about what might have been, you don't have that luxury. Prue is safe, she's here with us, but you and your baby are in danger.'

'I don't know if I can do it.' Piper said quietly, her gaze shifting to the floor.

'Of course you can.' Grams exclaimed. 'And you won't be doing this alone, you have your sisters and Leo to help you, and who better than the Charmed Ones to safeguard the future of good magic?'

'So why didn't you tell us any of this before?' Piper demanded.

'Because you weren't ready to hear it' Grams said resolutely.

Piper took that in, remaining quiet for a moment, and then something else occurred to her 'And mom knew about all of this?'

'Well of course she did. She wanted to tell you earlier but I knew you weren't ready. It was vital that you accepted Paige in to the family, and I was afraid that if I told you, you would resent her and wouldn't give her a chance. I mean you have to admit it took you a long time to accept her as part of this family. '

Piper flushed, remembering how mean she'd been to Paige in the beginning. She simply hadn't wanted to accept her; it had been too hard. Grams was right she never would have given Paige a chance if she'd known this back then.

'What about Leo?' She asked suddenly. 'Was Leo a part of all this? She spoke so softly that Grams could hardly hear her. 'Did he deliberately let Prue die? Please Grams you have to tell me the truth.'

'Leo didn't know anything about it, and as a matter of fact he still doesn't know' Grams said firmly. 'The Elders deliberately kept him out of the loop because they thought that he'd try to stop it that he'd warn you in some way.'

Piper released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She couldn't have coped if Leo had been a part of the deception too. She felt a little dizzy, and realised that her legs were shaking badly. She quickly sank down in the old rocking chair, closing her eyes and taking some slow deep breaths.

Grams watched her, a worried frown creasing her features. Piper was eight months pregnant and it didn't do to be getting all worked up like this. It wasn't good for Piper or the baby.

'You don't have time to argue with me about this Piper' she said firmly, taking control of the situation. 'You're in great danger. You have to save the remaining covens; you mustn't allow the shield to fail. The shield is your greatest protection from the forces of evil.

Piper's eyes flew open. 'Ha, so you did know about the shield!' She exclaimed, giving Grams an accusatory glare.

'Well of course I knew about it' Grams scoffed. 'I invented it. A simple protection spell magnified 100 fold. I set up the pact with the covens myself. It was my safety net in case I wasn't around to help you.'

'Yet another thing you decided to keep from us' Piper said bitterly. 'What other secrets are you hiding Grams? Anything else I should know about?'

Grams looked uncomfortable. 'Oh Piper surely you can understand our reasons for doing what we did. Perhaps I should have told you earlier, but I just didn't think you were ready. You had enough to cope with, moving on from Prue's death, accepting Paige in to the family, and then the baby. I needed to be sure that you could do it. That you had the strength to take over Prue's leadership role, that you could keep the family together.'

Piper frowned. 'Are you saying that you doubted me?' Her voice broke 'That mom doubted me?' She fixed Grams with a dark stare.

Grams shifted awkwardly 'Of course not, but the Elders needed to be sure that you were still committed to the cause. They were afraid that if you found out the truth about Prue, you and Phoebe might walk away from your duties and refuse to continue the fight. You have to admit Piper you did think about it.'

'And what makes you think I won't walk away now?' Piper snapped. 'Now I've found out that I've been lied to for the past two years.'

Grams smiled. 'Because your sense of duty is too strong. You wanted to walk away when Prue died, but you didn't. You tried to go on strike when the Elders took Leo away from you, but you couldn't, in the end your sense of duty won through just as it will now.'

Piper scowled, knowing that Grams was right. She had walked away from her Charmed duties in the past and both times it had nearly cost her dearly. When the Elders had forcibly removed Leo in the middle of their secret wedding ceremony Piper had given them an ultimatum. She had gone on strike until Leo was returned to her. An innocent little girl had almost lost her life. Piper had pulled herself together just in time and done the right thing, but she still burned with shame whenever she thought about it. She had been upset and in pain, angry at the world in general and the Elders in particular, but it wasn't a good enough reason to lose an innocent.

The second time, just after Prue's death, Piper had initially refused to help Phoebe to save the innocent that had been targeted by Shax, Prue's murderer. She had been too afraid to get involved. After losing Prue she didn't want to be involved in that dangerous lifestyle anymore. She was afraid that she would lose her own life or even worse that she would lose Phoebe. That innocent had turned out to be Paige. Piper shook her head ruefully, she had been so afraid of losing another sister, and ironically by thinking that way, she had almost made it happen.

On both occasions her strong sense of duty had kicked in. She might have wanted to walk away from her responsibilities, but her conscience wouldn't let her do it, just like it wouldn't let her walk away now, no matter how angry and betrayed she felt.

'I guess you're right' she admitted reluctantly.

Grams smiled. 'Well of course I'm right. I'm always right. It's the wisdom that comes from years of experience, and dealing with six husbands.' After a moment her smile faded and she appeared agitated. 'Now Piper we really don't have time to talk about this you have important work to do.'

'Okay, but don't think this is the last of it.' Piper warned. 'When this is all over and we've saved the covens, you and I will be continuing this conversation.'

'As you wish, but it won't change the facts.' Grams said, relieved that she had gotten away so lightly. It wasn't that she'd lied exactly; it was more that she had left some important information out, information that couldn't be revealed, at least not yet.

She looked warmly at Piper 'Now I really do have to go. Take care my darling and remember no matter how bad things might seem you have your family. Always keep them close.'

The flames on the candles flickered and died, and Grams faded from view, leaving Piper completely alone in the attic. Piper shivered. It had been the strangest night, full of long hidden secrets and unpleasant revelations. Although in some ways it was comforting to finally know that Prue's death hadn't been a meaningless accident that it had served a higher purpose, knowing that the Elders had had a hand in it was a bitter pill to swallow. She had long ago become resentful of the power and influence that they seemed to hold over her life, now she was also distrustful and suspicious. The fact that they were willing to sacrifice Prue like that even if it was for the greater good was callous and cold.

If that wasn't bad enough Grams' words had thrown her emotions in to turmoil when it came to Paige. For the first time in a long time she was glad that her sisters had left her home alone. She didn't know how she felt about Paige right now, wasn't sure she could face her. She knew one thing for sure; Paige and Phoebe must never know what Grams had told her. She had been incensed that Grams had kept such a major secret, but now she wished that it had remained hidden.

She wanted to send back the knowledge, wished that she still didn't know, because the truth was just too horrible. At the time she had searched in vain for some meaning behind Prue's death, but now she realised that it would have been far better to go on thinking that it had been a tragic accident. She had never been one to keep secrets from her sisters, but there was no way she was gonna drop this on Paige it just wouldn't be right. How could Paige ever live with herself knowing that Prue had died because of her? No it was a secret that had to be buried, and she had to try and put it out of her mind.

She had always felt safe and comfortable in the attic, but now Piper wanted to get out of there. The rain that beat a steady rhythm against the windows suddenly sounded too loud. The sky, which had turned from blue to purple to black whilst she'd been talking to Grams now seemed to be too dark. The attic, which was always warm even during the winter months, suddenly seemed close and oppressive. She had to get out.

Piper closed the door and locked it, as she did so she mentally locked the information away in the back of her mind. She was still a little shaky, and her inner turmoil had obviously been transmitted to the baby because having been quiet for the last half-hour she was now very unsettled, squirming and kicking. Slowly Piper ran a comforting hand back and forth over her stomach, hoping that the gentle rubbing would reassure the tiny life within. 'It's okay sweetie' she said softly, 'everything's gonna be okay.'

Piper wished that she could believe that, but she couldn't see how things could ever be okay. She shook her head trying to clear it. She couldn't allow herself to think like that. She had to calm down, and she needed to calm the baby down, Grams was right about that all this stress and upset was bad for both of them. Most of all she needed to feel normal again. She needed to go back downstairs, to munch on cookies and lose herself in her favourite soap, and to pretend that tonight hadn't happened. She sighed heavily. She knew that no matter how many cookies she ate, and no matter how enthralling the latest soap plot line, it wouldn't be enough to make this go away.

**To be continued ….**

**P.S. those of you hoping that Prue would make an appearance here don't despair. You just need to be a little more patient. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Just a quick response to the comment about Sangrail and the Da Vinci Code from chapter 11. Actually I didn't get the name Sangrail from the Da Vinci code. I wrote this chapter some time ago and was looking for an appropriate title for the prophecies. I basically went through the dictionary looking for something that sounded right. I found Sangrail and read the definition about the Holy Grail, and it seemed appropriate. I wanted to convey the idea of a secret or a mystery that the forces of both good and evil were trying to figure out, and the notion of the Holy Grail seemed to fit with that. The prophecies in this story are obviously fictional and have no connection to the Holy Grail or Mary Magdalene, rather they are relevant to the Charmed universe and characters. However, I have since read the Da Vinci Code, and the themes of the book (rather than the specific details) are the sort of thing I was going for. Hope that clears everything up. Now on with the story.**

'Leo!' Phoebe shouted. 'Alright Cole just lay her down gently on the couch. Watch her head.' Phoebe instructed as she looked around desperately. 'Leo!' she shouted again 'Oh God where is he?'

'Hey, what's all the shouting about?' Piper asked, padding in from the kitchen carrying a large glass of milk, and munching a cookie. 'Whoah! Phoebe look out' she yelled, spotting Cole. Without thinking she dropped the milk, the glass smashing on the floor, and gestured wildly at Cole, instantly blowing him up in to thousands of tiny black dots.

The dots buzzed angrily around the room and then reformed in the shape of a furious Cole. 'Ow that hurt' he said indignantly. He raised his right hand in retaliation, intending to blast Piper across the room, but Phoebe grabbed his arm.

'Hey you two, enough with the superpowers' she scolded. 'Paige is really hurt.' She took hold of Paige's hand and squeezed it, praying for some kind of response, but getting nothing.

'Please wake up honey' she begged, gently brushing Paige's light auburn hair off her forehead. 'C'mon Paige don't do this.'

'Paige?' Piper whispered, noticing her for the first time. Instinctively she made a move towards Paige and then checked back, an image of Prue rushing unbidden in to her mind. She hesitated unsure what to do, and then decided to stay where she was.

Phoebe preoccupied with Paige didn't notice Piper's strange behaviour, but Piper caught Cole looking at her curiously, an intrigued smile tugging at his lips.

Self-conscious, she quickly pulled her gaze away from him and turned to Phoebe. 'What happened? Was it him?' She glared at Cole 'What did you do to her?'

'This is great, just great' Cole muttered. 'I help get rid of the bad guys, I get them back home to the Manor, and do I get any thanks? No. 'cause that'd be too easy. Oh no. First she blows me up and then she starts in on the accusations.' He threw up his hands in mock despair 'I mean is a 'thank you' really too much to ask?'

'Is she breathing?' Piper asked, still making no move towards Paige. She ignored Cole, who sulkily took a seat on the opposite side of the room, and instead focused her attention on Phoebe.

Phoebe kneeling down next to Paige, studied her closely 'Just barely.' She looked at Piper hardly able to control her panic. 'Oh Piper I don't think she has much time. Where the hell is Leo?'

Piper hesitated for an instant. The hesitation was so slight that it was barely noticeable. Then she pulled herself together, what the hell was she thinking? Paige's life was at stake. 'Leo!' she yelled loudly 'Get your butt down here right now, I mean it.'

'Alright, alright I'm here, what's the problem?' Leo orbed in beside Piper.

Phoebe turned towards him, eyes filled with tears. 'It's Paige, she's hurt. Leo, I think it's really bad.'

'Okay Phoebe, just step back and let me do my job' Leo instructed, his professional calm taking over.

Obediently Phoebe moved out of the way. Piper put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and they both watched as Leo knelt down next to Paige.

Leo held both hands over Paige's lifeless form. 'C'mon Paige' he muttered under his breath 'Don't give up on me now.' Blocking out everyone else in the room, Leo focused all of his concentration on Paige. He thought about how much she meant to him, how much she meant to her sisters. Then he thought about how glad he was that Paige had come in to their lives. He felt a tiny flutter in his heart as his power was triggered, and a brilliant white light emanated from his hands. The light grew until it encased Paige's entire body, and then slowly faded away.

Paige's eyelids flickered and she moaned softly. His job done, Leo allowed himself to relax, and then stepped back to let the girls through. As he did so he noticed Cole for the first time. 'Hey…' he began, but Cole shook his head 'It's better if you don't ask.'

'Oh thank God you're alright' Phoebe enthused, hugging Paige tightly.

Piper hung back for a second, trying to compose herself. She had to act normal she couldn't afford to act weird around Paige. She took a deep breath and then moved forward decisively 'Hey give me a little room here' she complained, giving Phoebe a friendly dig in the ribs 'I wanna hug her too.'

'Sorry' Phoebe grinned, scooting over to let Piper in.

As she hugged her youngest sister Piper thought about how much she had come to love Paige. Just thinking that way made her feel a little better.

Paige opened her eyes and immediately tried to sit up.

'Whoah, take it easy there' Piper instructed. Now that Paige was properly awake Piper felt the awkwardness return. Prue had died because of Paige. Instinctively Piper pulled away, ostensibly to give Paige a little air. 'That was a close one' she observed.

Still dazed, Paige didn't notice Piper's behaviour. She turned her head and felt the room tilt sharply. Immediately she shut her eyes again.

'What happened?' she asked a little shakily. Cautiously she opened first her right eye, and then her left. All the while keeping her head completely still until she was sure that the room wasn't gonna pull another sneaky moving stunt on her.

'Energy ball. Blew you up.' Phoebe informed her succinctly.

'Oh.' Paige said taking that in. She smiled. 'That's kinda cool.' Then she pulled a face, and clapped a hand to her aching head 'And also kinda painful. Major head rush.'

'Yeah well you just take it easy for a while okay' Phoebe insisted. She was still a little shaken herself by the near miss, and having Cole at the Manor wasn't exactly conducive to relaxation.

'Okay mom I promise, I'll be good' Paige said grinning. Then her smile faded. 'Wait a minute what about the witches? Did we save them?' She glanced around the room eagerly and got her first glimpse of Cole. 'Oh my God it's Cole, he's here. Quick' she motioned at Piper 'blow him up.'

'Already tried that' Piper admitted sheepishly.

'How many times do I have to say this?' Cole exclaimed in exasperation. 'I told you I'm good now. I'm on your side. Why won't you listen? And do either of you even know what indestructible means?'

'Hey buddy, I can show you what indestructible means' Piper countered rolling up her sleeves in anticipation. For once she was actually glad that Cole was here. She was having a tough time acting normal around Paige, was sure that sooner or later one of her sisters, or more likely Leo, would notice that she was acting a little off. If they started asking questions she'd have trouble keeping it from them, she'd never been very good at lying. Right now arguing with Cole was much easier than trying to keep up the pretence in front of the others.

She turned to him eagerly 'C'mon let's go a few rounds I could use the exercise. I'm invincible, self-healing and pregnant, trust me that's one combination you really don't wanna mess with.'

Leo turned to Cole and whispered conspiratorially 'Believe me I wouldn't argue with her right now if I were you, pregnancy' he shook his head in dismay, 'major mood swings, temper like a...'

'Oh yeah?' Cole interrupted, getting out of his seat and squaring up for a fight. Every since he'd gotten back from the wasteland with his enhanced powers he'd been unable to find a worthy adversary and he could use a little action. He looked at Piper menacingly 'Well I'm invincible, supremely powerful, and now I'm also majorly pissed so...'

'Would you two please cut it out?' Phoebe begged. 'We don't have time for this. Lives are at stake and you're playing celebrity death match.' She turned to Cole 'alright now we just lost another coven. Cole you said you knew this guy so start talking.'

**To be continued…..**


	14. Chapter 14

'Taric, he's the guy you're after' Cole said matter of factly as he settled himself comfortably in an easy chair. He shrugged casually. 'He's your typical upper level demon, a little talent, a little charisma and a bucket load of ambition. You see the Underworld's been in chaos ever since my departure.' He allowed himself a brief smirk, then seeing Phoebe's pained expression continued hurriedly 'he basically wants to establish himself as the new Source. It's kinda disappointing actually, the complete lack of originality.'

'Okay and his plan is what exactly?' Phoebe asked looking at Cole intently.

Cole lent back in the chair and rested both hands behind his head, thinking for a moment. 'My guess. Take out the covens, thereby knocking out the protective shield. Then announce open season on the Charmed Ones, and sit back and let someone else do the dirty work. Once the power of three is destroyed, he steps up and takes all the credit.' He sighed. 'It's simple yet deliciously effective.'

'Oh please' Paige scoffed. 'Do you really expect us to buy that?'

I'm telling you Taric is dangerous. You have to listen to me' Cole insisted. I know him; he's not your usual run of the mill demon, he's real smart. He used to work for me back when I was the source, and I really think he's got what it takes to pull this off.'

Noticing their sceptical looks he continued hurriedly 'If you don't believe me look in the book, I'll bet you'll find he's in there.'

'Okay' Phoebe agreed, picking up the Book of Shadows and flicking through it until she found what she was looking for. 'He's right Taric is in here.' She quickly scanned the entry in the book 'Cliff notes version, he's a soldier of fortune, one of the source's assassins.' She hesitated unsure how to continue.

'Like Shax' Piper said softly, sharing a look of understanding with Phoebe before shooting a dark look in Paige's direction. Paige her attention focused upon Phoebe didn't notice, but Leo did. He gave his wife a questioning look, but Piper quickly looked away.

Phoebe cleared her throat, which had gone dry. 'Yeah like Shax' she said quietly, swallowing hard.

'So what's his power?' Paige asked breaking the awkward silence that had developed.

'Energy balls.' Phoebe responded, reading from the book.

'Really, energy balls, how convenient' Paige exclaimed. She shook her head in disgust 'Phoebe he's playing you. C'mon he knows about the shield, he was right there at the park. It's obvious he's involved, he's just trying to throw us off course.'

'Maybe' Phoebe said doubtfully, glancing at Cole, but he wasn't giving anything away.

Paige shook her head in frustration 'Oh come on, he already said that he knows this guy, so he knew exactly what you were gonna find in the book. Hell it's probably not even in the book, for all we know he could be making you see something that's not really there, it could be another one of his new powers. This doesn't prove anything.'

'Hey.' Cole said indignantly 'I just gave you top quality information, I think that calls for a little respect.'

'Right, top quality information' Paige sneered. 'And just how pray tell did you happen to come across this information.'

'I've got connections' Cole said huffily. 'I was a warrior, a soldier of fortune, the source of all evil. You know that kind of reputation opens a lotta doors in demonic circles.'

'Okay' Paige said slowly. 'But that still doesn't explain what happened at the Park. You coulda saved those witches but ya didn't, ya just let them die.'

'I didn't get there in time' Cole said stiffly, looking down at the floor. 'I wanted to help, but it was too late.'

Paige threw up her hands in frustration 'Now isn't that convenient.' She turned to the others 'Aw c'mon please tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't buy this. Piper back me up here, you know I'm right.'

Piper hesitated. Sure she was suspicious of Cole, who wouldn't be after everything he'd done in the past, but so far he'd done nothing but help. He'd warned Phoebe about the covens, he'd shown up at the park to help Phoebe and Paige, and he had just saved Paige's life. She fully understood why Paige was so suspicious of him, and Paige had been right about Cole before, but that didn't mean that she was right about him now. Paige was always going to be paranoid about Cole no matter how hard he tried to prove himself; it was just a fact of life.

After last time when she hadn't listened to Paige until it was almost too late, she and Paige had made a pact that if one of them were suspicious of Cole the other one would always listen. Even if they didn't immediately agree they would always take the suspicion seriously, and take the time to consider it. She knew that Paige had every right to expect her support today, but when she looked at Paige she saw Prue, and she couldn't help but feel bitter and resentful. Paige was the reason Prue had been taken away from her, why the hell should she support her? 'I'm sorry Paige' she said firmly, 'But it kinda makes sense to me.'

'Finally one of you's seen sense' Cole grinned. He looked at Piper curiously. That was the second time she'd acted off around Paige. He wasn't sure what was going on, but there was definitely some tension within the power of three.

'Hey you don't have to gloat about it' Piper said grumpily. 'Nobody likes an arrogant half-demon.'

'I don't believe this' Paige fumed, looking at Piper as though Piper had lost her mind. Sure it had taken her a while to convince Piper the last time, but in the end her sister had believed her, trusted in Paige's instincts. She'd really thought that she and Piper were on the same wavelength when it came to Cole. They'd both agreed that they should keep an eye on him for Phoebe's sake; neither of them really trusted him and they weren't about to be caught out a second time.

Piper had promised that when it came to Cole she would always take Paige's suspicions seriously, and yet here she was agreeing with him. The betrayal felt like a knife through the heart. She couldn't understand it; it just didn't make any sense. She knew that she and Piper hadn't spent a lot of time together lately, and she had been feeling like an outsider again these last few weeks, but she'd managed to convince herself that it was just her imagination that she was being paranoid. Had she been right all along? The doubts that she had been feeling over the last few weeks began to grow.

She looked at Piper again, her eyes full of questions. When Piper refused to look at her she gave up and turned to Leo instead. 'Leo, you remember what happened the last time around - Phoebe, Queen of the Underworld, pregnant with a demon child, Piper drinking herself in to oblivion- do I really have to go on?'

'That was different Paige' Leo began hesitantly.

'How was it different?' Paige demanded.

Leo sighed. As a whitelighter it was his job to act as guide. He had to remain objective, to be the voice of reason. Paige had always been suspicious of Cole, and it would be easy to go down that path, but Paige was a little biased when it came to Cole. She had been right about him last time, and by the time they had listened to her it had almost been too late. It was little wonder that she was finding it hard to give Cole the benefit of the doubt this time around.

He looked at Paige, wincing at the desperation he saw in her eyes. She badly needed his support right now, he'd seen the hurt in her eyes when Piper sided with Cole, but he was afraid that Paige was acting on emotion. She'd never forgiven Cole and she was seeing things that she wanted to see, making connections that weren't necessarily there. Leo wasn't completely sure that he trusted Cole himself, but so far there was no evidence to show that Cole was involved, in fact so far Cole had been nothing but helpful.

'Cole was under the influence of the Source back then, it wasn't really his fault' he began gently.

Cole grinned broadly, interrupting Leo before he could continue 'You know it's so great to be welcomed back in to the fold like this. I've missed this, I really have. And you know I really like what you've done with the place for the holidays.' He gestured at the room, which Paige had decorated 'Great tree, very festive.'

'Phoebe' Paige said urgently, ignoring Cole's comments. 'Are you gonna tell me that you believe him too?'

After a long pause Phoebe said slowly 'Right now I don't know what to believe Paige.'

'What!' Cole turned to her in shock, his smug grin vanishing. 'Phoebe I thought that you of all people would have a little faith in me after everything we've been through.'

Gently Phoebe reached out and touched his face 'I want to believe you Cole I really do. It's just hard y'know after everything that's happened. I don't think I can let myself get hurt like that again.'

'Phoebe, hurting you is the last thing I want to do' Cole said softly. 'You mean everything to me, surely you know that?'

'Hey' Paige interrupted, unwilling to allow Cole the opportunity to change Phoebe's mind. 'Enough with the mind games. She already said she didn't trust you, so why don't you take a hint pal and get outta here.' She gestured towards the door.

'Because I can help you' Cole said tersely, still looking desperately at Phoebe.

'Oh really.' Paige, hands on her hips in a posture of defiance, looked down at him archly. 'Interesting. How?'

Caught off guard by the direct challenge, Cole looked at her blankly for a moment, and then tried stalling 'I'm sorry what?'

'I said, how exactly can you help us?' Paige repeated, clearly enunciating each word for him.

Cole opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the phone rang loudly making everyone jump.

'Talk about saved by the bell' Paige complained bitterly, shaking her head in disgust and sitting back down on the arm of the couch.

'No wait, don't answer it' Phoebe commanded.

Piper, her hand already on the receiver looked at her younger sister questioningly.

'It'll be Elise wanting to know if I've finished this week's column. I told her I'd work on it from home.' She grimaced 'I switched off my cell so she couldn't contact me, but she must've gotten my home number.'

'Phoebe' Piper admonished. 'You can't afford to lose this job, we need the money you bring in.'

Phoebe looked suitably chastened. 'I know, I know, but I've been so busy, and what with everything that's happened today, I haven't had a chance to finish my column.'

'Alright, but I have to answer it, it might be important' Piper said reasonably.

'Okay, okay' Phoebe relented. ' But if it's Elise, tell her I'm upstairs working, and that I'm nearly done. Oh and say that I said I wasn't to be disturbed.' She looked pleadingly at Piper 'Okay?'

Piper shrugged. 'Okay, but if you get fired I do reserve the right to say I told you so.'

'I love you' Phoebe said, blowing her a kiss.

Piper pulled a face and then picked up the phone. 'Hello.' She covered the mouthpiece with her hand 'It's Darryl.'

'Ssshhh.' She placed her finger to her lips indicating that she needed them to be quiet. 'What? Darryl, I can't hear you very well……. Oh that's not good. That's not good at all.' Two minutes later she replaced the receiver and turned and looked at them, her face ashen.

'Well?' Phoebe demanded impatiently.

'That was Darryl' Piper explained unnecessarily. 'He found another coven- already dead.'

**To be continued …**


	15. Chapter 15

'What?' Phoebe exclaimed in horror. 'That can't be right, I mean there hasn't been time.'

Piper shrugged 'Well I guess our boy Taric decided to speed things up a little, which means we need to get a game plan people and fast.'

'See' Cole said smugly, looking at Paige. 'I told you I had nothing to do with this. I was right here the whole time.'

'Just because you weren't there doesn't mean you're not involved' Paige snapped in frustration. She scowled. She knew he was playing them, but she couldn't seem to do anything about it. He was beating her at every turn and enjoying it too. She'd love to wipe that self-satisfied smirk off his face she just hadn't figured out a way of doing yet, but she would, and when she did her sisters would finally have to admit that she was right.

'You could easily have arranged for someone else to do the dirty work' she said, glaring at him. 'Being here is the perfect alibi.'

'Gee Paige are you always this paranoid?' Cole asked sweetly. 'You know maybe you should see a therapist, help you deal with your issues.'

Paige opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Piper interrupted her 'We don't have time for this Paige' she said firmly. 'We need to make sure the last coven is safe.'

Sitting back down on the couch, Piper picked up the map that had been left on the coffee table 'Now Darryl said that the latest murders took place here at Alcatraz.'

'Air' Paige said softly, looking at where Piper had neatly plotted the pentagram. She screwed up her face in confusion 'What has Alcatraz got to do with air?'

'Maybe because it's built up high on a rock' Phoebe suggested reasonably.

'Or it could be because of the bird man of Alcatraz' Leo offered.

When the others looked at him incredulously, he looked a little sheepish 'Well he was the most famous inmate.'

'Huh the bird man - air - that's kinda corny don'tcha think?' Paige complained. 'Surely the coven could think of something better than that?'

'So' Piper continued as though the others hadn't spoken 'that leaves us with water, which means the last coven is most likely at the Golden Gate Strait, that's gotta be the most significant body of water, and it's in the right location.' She tapped the map with her finger, indicating the location for water that she had circled earlier.

Phoebe jumped up, clapping her hands together 'Okay then lets get on it.' She looked at Paige anxiously 'Do you feel up to orbing us there?'

Paige grinned, enjoying the feeling of being needed 'Sure, I'm as good as new thanks to Leo. Let's get going.' She took hold of Phoebe's hand before Phoebe could change her mind and ask Cole to provide the magical transportation. She held out her other hand to Piper who hadn't moved 'Step this way Piper, your carriage awaits.'

'Piper isn't going, she's staying right here' Phoebe said immediately.

'You've gotta be kidding me' Paige protested. 'Piper's our best chance of saving the coven; she's got the most firepower, and she's indestructible. You wouldn't let her come with us to the park and look what happened. We can't afford to make that mistake again.'

'It's different now Paige' Phoebe argued. 'We don't need to take Piper we have Cole. He's just as indestructible, and he's got plenty of firepower.'

'I couldn't have put it better myself' Cole said. He stood up, ready for action 'So if you ladies are ready, I really think we should get going, we don't have a lot of time.'

'I don't trust Cole' Paige said pointedly to Phoebe.

'Yeah well you've made that pretty obvious' Cole muttered darkly. 'Come on Phoebe' he implored. 'I want to help. You said it yourself, why put Piper in danger when I'm here?'

'He's right Paige' Phoebe explained. 'We'd be crazy to risk Piper when we don't have to.'

'Phoebe' Paige said urgently. 'Just think about this for one second' she begged. 'Piper is the only one of us who is a match for him, and he knows that. It'll be a lot easier for him to take out the coven if Piper's not there.'

'For the last time, I don't want to take out the coven' Cole snapped. He scowled in frustration. 'You just don't give up do you?'

'Not when it comes to saving lives, no' Paige responded tartly. 'Phoebe c'mon, you said it yourself you don't know if you can trust him' Paige argued.

'Phoebe, I'm here, I'm available and I want to help' Cole said firmly. He bent down so that his face was close to her's. 'Please Phoebe let me do this. Let me help you.'

Phoebe, her gaze rapidly switching from Paige to Cole and back to Paige again, hesitated. She just didn't know what to do, which way to turn, and she was running out of time.

Leo who had been watching all this intently, broke the silence that had developed 'Piper, you've been pretty quiet so far, what do you think?' he asked.

Piper cleared her throat awkwardly. She would dearly love to go kick some demon ass right now, and she wasn't completely convinced that Cole was on their side, but she still felt horribly awkward around Paige, and a little time out from her sister might help her get her head together. She hesitated. Common sense told her that she should go support her sisters, make sure that the coven was safe, but she was too scared. She was scared of the bitterness and resentment she felt in her heart towards Paige. It would be so easy to just stand back and let something happen. In the heat of battle no one would notice, there would be no blame, no questions it would be so easy.

The idea of standing by and willing letting Paige get hurt was just too horrible to even contemplate. She didn't even want to imagine that she might be capable of doing it, but the truth was right now Piper wasn't sure enough of herself. Grams' news had shocked her to the very core, and she hadn't regained control. She wouldn't do it, not willingly, but all it might take would be one moment of hesitation, one slight delay in responding. She couldn't risk it she wouldn't risk it.

'Actually I think Cole's right' she said stiffly. 'You guys should go with Cole and save the coven, and I'll stay here and start work on a vanquishing potion.'

Cole looked at her curiously, intrigued by this turn of events. This was the second time tonight that she'd sided with him against Paige. He'd always prided himself on his observational skills. Being able to read your opponent gave you a vital edge when it came to combat. Over the years Cole had honed his ability, and he always tried to tune in to the dynamics and under currents in any situation. He'd noticed that Piper had been acting a little off ever since he'd gotten there. He'd caught her slight reluctance to help Paige earlier, and her awkwardness around Paige was clear. He knew that Piper had taken a long time to warm up to Paige, and even now she wasn't quite so loving towards her youngest sister as Phoebe was, but he hadn't seen her this cold towards Paige in a long time. Interesting, Cole thought, very interesting. He filed away the information in the back of his mind for future use.

'I don't believe this! You're really not coming with us.' Paige exclaimed in dismay. 'I don't get it. Before you were desperate to fight demons and now suddenly you don't want to go. What's going on?'

'I'm just a little tired right now' Piper explained hastily. Even to her own ears her words didn't sound particularly convincing.

Paige eyed her suspiciously taken aback by the complete turnaround in Piper's attitude 'Who are you and what have you done with my sister?' she asked, only half joking. In this family you never knew. It was quite possible that Piper had been possessed or was slowly turning in to a banshee or a wendigo or some other magical creature.

Piper allowed herself a brief smile at that. 'I just need a little break that's all.'

'Okay' Paige said doubtfully. 'But I'd feel a whole lot better if you were with us.'

Piper knew she was gonna have to give her something more. She hadn't wanted to do this, but she didn't have any choice, she was gonna have to play the pregnancy card. She took a deep breath and hoped fervently that she wouldn't be struck down by some higher power for lying to her sisters.

'I know and I'm sorry Paige, but I don't feel so good right now, my stomach's kinda bothering me tonight.'

Instantly concerned, Phoebe let go of Paige's hand, and knelt down next to Piper. 'Oh sweetie you should have told us you weren't feeling well' she said sympathetically, gently rubbing Piper's stomach as she spoke. 'You know maybe you should go to the hospital, just to be safe.'

'I'm fine' Piper assured her quickly, feeling horribly guilty at the concern she saw in Phoebe's eyes. She pulled a face. 'It's just my heartburn back again.' She sighed heavily, 'you should be used to it by now, it's kinda becoming a regular theme.'

'Yeah, a little too regular' Phoebe said worriedly. This had happened way too often recently, and Phoebe couldn't help feeling that she was to blame. She was supposed to be helping Piper to have a stress free existence for the last few weeks of her pregnancy obviously she wasn't succeeding.

'I really think we should get you to a doctor, just to be sure' she said firmly. 'I don't think it should be happening this often, it just doesn't feel right.'

Piper shook her head and gave Phoebe a smile of one who knew better, 'Phoebe, heartburn is a perfectly normal part of pregnancy. Along with nausea, backache, constant need to…'

'It's because you're getting all stressed out about the covens and the shield isn't it' Phoebe interrupted morosely. 'I knew you should have gone up to the Elders, it's not safe for you down here.' She frowned. 'In fact I think that Leo should orb you up there right now.'

'If I was up there with the Elders I'd be twice as stressed out worrying about what was going on down here without me' Piper protested. 'I'll be much happier here where I know what's going on.'

'Maybe' Phoebe conceded, 'but I still think Leo should take you to the hospital.'

Piper shook her head 'Phoebe I told you I don't need to go to the hospital, it's just a little indigestion' she said grumpily. 'This is nothing new. I've had it plenty of times before. I don't see why you're getting so bent out of shape about it now.'

'Because you're so close to your due date, and because of all the extra stress we're under right now' Phoebe defended herself. She felt a little ridiculous making such a fuss, but she couldn't help it. Expecting a magical baby meant that Piper hadn't had all the scans and blood work that a pregnant woman in her eighth-month should have had, and Phoebe had long harboured a secret fear that something would go wrong.

If she thought about it rationally, she knew that Piper's stomach had bothered her throughout her pregnancy, firstly with the dreadful morning sickness that had seemed to last forever, and more recently she'd been plagued by recurrent heartburn. Phoebe knew that she was overreacting, but she couldn't help it, where Piper and the baby were concerned it didn't take much to freak her out these days. 'If you're sure that's all it is' she said doubtfully.

Piper nodded relieved that Phoebe was finally going to let it go. 'I'm sure.' She rolled her eyes. 'Trust me by now I'm pretty familiar with what indigestion feels like.'

'Do you want some warm milk? Phoebe asked. 'Or maybe some camomile tea, that usually settles your stomach. I'll go fix you some right now.' She got up from the floor meaning to head towards the kitchen.

Piper sighed. She felt guilty getting Phoebe all wound up like this, but there hadn't been another way. 'Phoebe please stop worrying' she begged. 'My stomach will be just fine. You know how it works, I just need to sit down quietly for a little while and I'll be fine.'

Phoebe looked as though she were about to protest so Piper continued firmly 'look we've got a coven to save remember, we can't go getting distracted, we need to be concentrating on that.'

'Don't worry about the coven Piper, we can handle it' Paige said quickly hoping to make amends. She felt like such an idiot.Piper was heavily pregnant and she needed her rest just like any other expectant mother and here she was demanding that her sister go out chasing after demons. It was no wonder Piper didn't take her seriously. Why had she made such a stupid fuss? She didn't know what was the matter with her lately, she couldn't seem to get even the simplest thing right. Paige bit her lip. Prue would never have asked Piper to put herself or the baby at risk like that. She would have had the confidence to deal with Cole herself. She wouldn't have whined and complained like a baby.

'I'm not sure I like the idea of you staying here alone' Phoebe said worriedly, 'I mean that could be exactly what Taric wants right?' She looked at Cole, but he merely shrugged and began pacing impatiently.

'Maybe I should stay with Piper just to be safe' she suggested.

'It's okay Phoebe. I'll stay here' Leo assured her, speaking for the first time. 'It makes more sense for me to stay. I can listen out for your call in case you run in to trouble. And' he added 'if you need back up I can always orb Piper over there.'

He looked at Piper for confirmation, and she nodded her agreement.

'Good now that we've finally got the domestic arrangements sorted out do you think we could get down to business?' Cole asked impatiently. 'There's a coven out there that needs saving and we don't have a lot of time.'

'You're very jittery' Paige remarked. 'What's the matter Cole wanna make sure you're there to oversee your little operation?'

Disgruntled, Cole ignored Paige and instead turned to Phoebe 'We're running out of time.'

'Go, he's right, we don't have much time' Piper insisted.

'But..' Phoebe began.

'Phoebe' Piper said, her tone indicating that she wasn't in the mood for an argument. 'I told you I'll be fine, now go.'

Finally Phoebe relented. 'Okay, okay we're going.' She stepped away from Piper, and reached out her hand to Paige. 'Paige, are you ready?'

Paige nodded. She took hold of Phoebe's hand and they orbed out with Cole following soon after.

'So' Leo said to Piper the moment the others disappeared. 'Now that we're finally alone were you planning on telling me what's going on?'

**To be continued …**


	16. Chapter 16

**The information in this chapter about the Clipper ship came from an internet site, and is not my invention. I did some internet research and looked at guide books on the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Strait. As mentioned previously I have never been to San Francisco, so I used the guides for information and then let my imagination get to work. Apologies for any inaccuracies in factual details, but I was going for a particular atmosphere.**

**Anyway, on with the story …**

'Do you see anything?' Paige asked, her eyes scanning the harbour for signs of the coven or the demons. She loved being by the water; she'd always enjoyed coming down to the harbour and watching the boats as they travelled in and out of port. She'd spent many an afternoon down here when she was a teenager, breathing in the tangy smell of the ocean, imagining just getting on a boat and slipping out to sea headed for some exotic location that would take her far away from her own troubled life.

'Nothing' Phoebe said in frustration. She too looked around. The harbour was one of the busiest in the world. San Francisco was the chief seaport on the pacific coast of the United States. Even now, late at night it was crowded with vessels of all shapes and sizes. As she watched, a huge freight ship slipped silently in to port, men jumping out at the last second to secure it with ropes.

She loved the harbour during the day, but at night she found it kinda creepy. She jumped as the south pier horn sounded to guide approaching ships safely in to port. Angry with herself for being spooked so easily, she took a few deep breaths and tried to get her heart rate back to normal. She'd seen a programme about the strait on the discovery channel once and it had forever coloured her view of the harbour.

The programme had talked of the ghost ship that supposedly haunted the strait. In the 1800's a clipper ship, 'The Tennessee' was said to have sailed in to a patch of thick fog and gone down. Over the years many witnesses claimed to have seen the ship passing beneath the bridge only to vanish seconds later. Phoebe shivered. With everything that she had experienced over the past five years she had no doubts that the Ghost ship existed, she only hoped that they didn't run in to it tonight, they had enough to deal with right now.

She looked out at the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. It stood impassive in the moonlight, spanning the Strait joining San Francisco to Marin County. It was an amazing piece of construction, the symbol of the city. During the day it was overcrowded with cars and cyclists, tourists wanting to walk across the famous bridge and take snap shots for the family album. Tonight it seemed strangely quiet, which only added to her sense of unease. Suddenly Phoebe wanted to get out of there.

'Any ideas?' she asked Cole who was standing quietly beside her.

'Maybe they're on one of the boats' Cole suggested reasonably. 'We should search them.'

'Oh great.' Paige complained. 'Well that shouldn't take long, there's only I don't know about a hundred boats here.'

'Well then we'll just have to narrow it down.' Cole said irritably.

'How?' Paige asked, looking around her in dismay. She had no idea where to even begin.

'The names' Phoebe said softly. 'Check the names of the boats. Look for something linked to magic.'

Piper feigned surprise 'what do you mean? Nothing's going on.' She picked up the Book of Shadows, and started flipping through it on the pretext of looking for more information on Taric. 'You know I could really use some help on this vanquishing potion' she said pointedly, hoping to distract Leo's attention.

Leo stepped forward and gently took the book from her hands. Placing it on the coffee table, he looked at her intently, concern etched in to his face. 'I know you Piper' he said softly 'and I know that something's wrong. Please tell me what it is' he begged.

'Nothing's wrong' Piper said quickly, giving him a reassuring pat on the knee. 'I'm fine, the baby's fine. I told you it's just a little indigestion, nothing I haven't had before like about a million times. I just don't feel like chasing after demons right now that's all.'

She sighed heavily 'look you've all been telling me to slow down for the past few weeks, so now I'm slowing down.' She smiled ruefully 'I thought you'd be pleased.'

'Come on Piper, I know you, and I know that you're not yourself right now' Leo argued. 'You've been acting a little off all night.'

'Leo, I'm eight months pregnant, my back is aching, my feet are killing me, I've hardly slept in weeks, and now on top of all that I have a stomach ache. Maybe I am acting a little off, but you know what I think I'm entitled.' Piper said defensively.

'And I seem to remember that you felt a little off too when the Sandman gave you a chance to experience pregnancy' she said archly.

'Seems like you've forgotten about that already. Maybe you need to try it again just to remind you. You know I'm pretty sure I could whip up some kinda spell. We could have you eight months pregnant again in no time' she said primly, patting his stomach.

For a moment Leo looked panic stricken. It had been an experience he would never forget. He'd found it real tough to concentrate on anything. His back had ached constantly, and trying to move around with that huge belly had been a test of his stamina and willpower. Just thinking about it now made him feel bloated and uncomfortable. Instinctively he ran a palm across his stomach as if to reassure himself that it hadn't happened again.

Piper caught the action and smirked 'Not so keen to try it again I see.'

Leo remained silent. He had no answer to that he knew that she was right. It'd been worth it to be able to feel the baby kick, and it sure had helped him to feel connected to their child. It had felt kinda nice too, feeling his child moving around inside his belly, knowing that he was carrying it, protecting it. Still after only a few hours he'd been mighty glad to get back to normal, and she was right he was in no hurry to try it again.

'And you know what' Piper continued, the anger that she had felt towards Leo over the previous weeks finally spilling over now that she had a chance to talk to him, 'instead of an interrogation right now I could use a little sympathy. This pregnancy has been pretty hard on me you know. I've felt lousy all the way through it, and I haven't been able to go see a real doctor or get any help.'

'I know, and I am sympathetic Piper honestly I am.' Leo assured her quickly. 'I think you've been amazing the way you've coped with things, much better than I ever could' he said honestly. 'But that's not what I'm talking about' he persisted. 'I'm talking about what's wrong between you and Paige.'

Piper looked up sharply, the anger that she had been feeling was completely over powered by shock. For a moment she considered trying to bluff it out, but one look at Leo's face told her that she'd be wasting her time. She was well and truly busted and she may as well come clean. 'Wow, it was that obvious?' She asked. 'I guess I'm not much of an actress huh.'

Leo gave her a warm smile 'Well I don't think you'll be winning any Academy awards this year, but I do have an unfair advantage.'

Piper sighed. 'I guess being a whitelighter sure comes in handy sometimes.'

Leo's smile grew wider 'Being a whitelighter and being your husband. I know you Piper. I've spent years watching you. I was watching over you and your sisters before you even knew I existed remember.' He looked a little sheepish 'I always took a special interest in you, paid you a little extra attention, even before we got together. Like I said, I know you. I knew right away that something was wrong tonight.'

'But how did you know it had to do with Paige? Piper narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously 'Did the Elders say something to you?' She figured the Elders must have been listening in on her conversation with Grams after all. No matter what Leo said she'd never truly believed that the Elders didn't tune in every now and again. The number of times they'd summoned Leo right when the two of them were getting to the good stuff just couldn't be a coincidence.

Leo looked at her in surprise, 'The Elders, no, what have they got to do with this?'

'Never mind' Piper said quickly. 'Just tell me how you knew it was about Paige.'

Leo began counting off on his fingers 'because you were siding with Cole way too easily, because you didn't wanna go out demon hunting, and because for the last few hours you haven't been able to look Paige in the eye.' He shrugged. 'How am I doin' so far?'

'A little too well' Piper admitted. 'Do you think anybody else noticed?' She asked anxiously. 'Do you think Paige noticed?'

Leo shook his head 'No I don't think so, she was way too preoccupied fighting with Cole.' He looked at her in confusion 'what's happened Piper? What don't I know?'

Piper took a deep breath, and let it out 'Okay' she said slowly, drawing out the word, 'but you know what honey, I really think you're gonna wanna to sit down for this one.' As she spoke she patted the seat beside her.

Looking a little alarmed, Leo sat down next to her.

For a moment Piper hesitated. As much as she wanted to unburden this shocking secret, she knew that it would be difficult for Leo to hear. The Elders were his bosses and although he didn't always agree with them, he respected and admired them. What she was about to tell him would tarnish their image forever, and she wasn't sure if Leo could handle that.

'So?' Leo pressed, his clear blue eyes full of questions.

Piper made the decision. 'Okay' she began tentatively, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. 'Well you see when everyone was out tonight, I didn't really watch TV.'

Leo remained silent, waiting for her to continue. Piper squeezed her eyes shut and spoke very fast, the words tumbling out in a rush 'I went up to the attic and I tried to summon Prue.' Reluctantly she opened her eyes to see the impact of her words.

Leo's mouth dropped open in surprise.

'I needed someone to talk to okay' Piper said quickly, before Leo could respond. 'And you didn't have any time for me, and Phoebe and Paige are never around and well I guess I just missed her' she finished lamely.

Leo was still staring at her in stunned silence. Piper shifted uncomfortably, her gaze dropping to the floor, 'Okay you can go ahead and shout at me now, let's get it over with.'

Leo shook his head 'I'm not going to shout at you Piper' he said gently. 'It's just I don't understand why you suddenly decided to do this now, after all this time. I thought you'd come to terms with Prue's death.'

Piper shook her head trying to clear the confusion that had suddenly settled there like a fog clouding her mind. Why had she decided to summon Prue? She'd accepted Prue's death years ago, had buried the idea of trying to contact her sister. So why had she suddenly felt the desperate need to talk to her, why now?

Taking a deep breath she looked in to Leo's concerned eyes. 'I know and I have, and most of the time I can cope with being the eldest you know. I can handle being the one in charge, the one who solves all the problems and does everything first, but I don't know, I guess this pregnancy, it's such a new thing for me. I just wanted some time out from being the responsible one. It's hard you know. I never realised quite how much Phoebe and I took Prue for granted. I mean she really took care of us for all those years. I've only been doing it for two years and already I want to go back to being the middle sister and having my big sister solve all my problems for me.'

'Well that's understandable' Leo said, giving her an encouraging smile. 'Everyone needs a little guidance sometimes, and suddenly becoming the oldest sister isn't exactly easy.' He frowned. 'You know you didn't have to keep it a secret from me. You could have told me I would have understood.'

'It wasn't just about that' Piper admitted reluctantly. 'I guess what I really wanted was someone to talk to' she said softly 'someone who would really listen to me.'

'But that doesn't make any sense' Leo protested. 'I mean you have someone to talk to Piper, you have me.'

'No Leo, I don't' Piper said firmly. 'I wanted to talk to you, I really did, but whenever I tried to talk to you about how I was feeling you were always too busy to listen.'

'That's not fair Piper' Leo complained flinching at the accusation. 'I want to be around, you know that but I have to work extra shifts right now if I want to spend time with you and the baby later.' He looked at her in disbelief, his expression a mixture of hurt and confusion 'we talked about this and we both agreed that it was the right thing to do. You said that you were okay with it.'

Piper shrugged. 'Well I guess I'm not okay with it any more. I guess I haven't been okay with it for a long time.' She sighed heavily. 'I'm scared Leo, I'm really scared.'

'I know things look bad right now Piper, but we'll get through this' Leo reassured her. 'You and your sisters will vanquish Taric and we'll find a way to re-power the shield and everything will be fine.'

Piper shook her head in resigned amusement. How could he be so perceptive one minute and so utterly clueless the next? 'Oh honey, that's not what I'm afraid of' she said sadly.

'Then what?' Leo asked, frowning in confusion.

'I'm afraid of us' Piper said softly. 'We're about to have a baby Leo, a tiny life that will be totally dependent upon us for everything, and you know what, I'm not sure if our marriage is strong enough right now to cope with that.' There she'd said it. She'd finally admitted what she had been trying to ignore for the last few weeks. It was almost a relief to have it out in the open.

'What are you saying Piper?' Leo whispered hoarsely. Instinctively he let go of her hand and moved away. 'Are you saying that you don't love me anymore, that you think we should separate?' He knew they'd been having a few problems lately, but he hadn't realised things had gotten this serious. Just the thought of losing Piper made him feel as though his heart really was breaking inside his chest.

Piper reached across the gap between them, and took hold of his hand again, giving it another squeeze 'No Leo that's not what I'm saying' she reassured him. 'Of course I still love you; I'll always love you no matter what.'

'Then what?' Leo asked urgently. He was having a hard time following this conversation.

Piper pushed a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. 'We take each other for granted Leo; we take our relationship for granted. There's no spark anymore, it's like we're stuck in a rut.'

Leo frowned. 'Piper all marriages go through difficult patches you know that. Relationships have to be worked at it's not meant to be easy. Real life gets in the way, and when you have the kind of lives that we have it's that much harder.'

He looked at her, his expression a mixture of pain and betrayal 'You knew that when you agreed to marry me, I never tried to pretend that being married to me would be easy.'

'I know that Leo, and that's not what I'm saying. This is more than just life getting in the way' Piper argued.

She looked at Leo, her dark eyes filled with tears. 'We used to talk about everything, now we don't talk at all. I don't know what you're thinking or feeling. We never spend any time alone together. You orb in after I've gone to sleep at night and you orb out again before I wake up in the morning.'

She hesitated for a moment almost too afraid to admit what she was really feeling. 'It's like you don't want to be around me anymore.'

'That's not true Piper. I'd spend every moment with you if I could. You know that' Leo said earnestly. He dug in his jeans pocket to retrieve his handkerchief, and gently wiped away the tears from Piper's cheeks.

'That's just it Leo, I don't know that anymore' Piper protested, taking the handkerchief from him and wiping her eyes. 'It's like you've stopped being attracted to me. You never kiss me, not properly, all I get is a peck on the cheek if I'm lucky, and sometimes I don't even get that. You never touch me, except to feel the baby kick. You don't look at me the way you used to with that sparkle in your eyes. You look at me and all you see is the baby, it's all anybody sees.'

She wiped furiously at the tears that were escaping 'It's all I hear all day every day - you need to calm down Piper too much stress is bad for the baby. You can't go to work Piper that wouldn't be good for the baby. You can't fight demons Piper, you have to stay here and rest- for the baby.'

She scowled. 'I feel like I'm losing my identity. It's like everything that I've worked for these last few years, everything I've become is just gradually disappearing, and all anyone sees...' she looked at him pointedly. 'All you see is a baby machine.'

'Our baby is important to me Piper, of course she is' Leo admitted. 'And when I look at you I see what a wonderful mother you're going to be, but that's not all I see.'

He reached out and gently traced a finger down her cheek, following the tracks left by her tears 'you are so much more than that Piper. When I look at you I see someone who is strong and brave and smart. I see someone who is incredibly beautiful and sexy. You have this overwhelming compassion, this desire to help people. You risk you life for other people every day, and you don't even get to tell anyone about it. I'm proud of you Piper, and I'm sorry if I don't say it enough or if I act like what you do and what you feel aren't important, because nothing could be further from the truth.'

He paused looking cautiously at Piper, waiting for her reaction and hoping desperately that his words had reached her.

Piper waited for a beat, and then she looked up at him and smiled 'So you still think I look sexy huh?' She drawled. Then she looked at him more seriously, an element of doubt creeping in to her voice 'You don't think that I look fat?'

Leo's gave her his most seductive smile, and ran his hand across her swollen belly 'Pregnancy suits you Piper. I think you look incredible like this.'

Smiling, Piper leaned forward, bringing her face close to his 'Oh yeah, well in that case mister you'd better make the most of it because the minute this baby's born I'm gonna be getting back in shape. So how about you come over her and give your incredibly sexy wife a kiss' she instructed, grabbing hold of the collar of his plaid shirt and pulling him towards her.

'You know Piper I hate fighting with you, but I really enjoy the making up part' Leo said dreamily, leaning in for the kiss.

'Oh my God I forgot about Paige' Piper exclaimed in horror, pushing Leo away. 'They're gonna be back soon. How could I let myself get so distracted?'

'Wait, what, so now you don't want me to kiss you?' Leo asked in confusion.

'Maybe later' Piper promised. 'Right now I've got something important to tell you. I can't believe I let myself get sidetracked like that.'

'Okay' Leo acknowledged, struggling to switch back in to his professional whitelighter persona. 'So you went to the attic and you summoned Prue. What did she say?'

'Nothing' Piper told him.

'Nothing' Leo echoed, looking even more confused than ever. 'You summoned Prue and she didn't say anything.' He looked at Piper doubtfully 'That doesn't sound like Prue.'

'No silly' Piper said slapping him playfully on the arm. 'I summoned Prue, but I didn't actually get to see Prue, because Grams intercepted my call. She said that I wasn't allowed to see Prue, because I can't ask other people to solve my problems for me and I have to try and work out my problems by myself and…'

'Piper' Leo interrupted 'you're babbling.'

'Oh' Piper said. She knew that she rambled when she was nervous, she couldn't help it. It was like her mouth had a life of it's own and she just kept on talking, the words pouring out with no real purpose, and now she was even doing it inside of her head, and she really should stop. 'Okay well never mind about that' she said soberly.

'So what did Grams say?' Leo prompted gently.

'Oh well you know Grams, she always has plenty to say' Piper explained. 'She said a whole bunch of stuff like about how she was the one who dreamt up this protective shield, and how she thinks our baby could be some special being written about in these famous prophecies, but you probably knew that one already since your bosses have the original copy up there. Oh yeah and the last thing, are you ready for this one cause I think it's gonna blow your mind. She said that the Elders let Prue die so that Paige could become a Charmed One.'

'So' she said, looking at him intently 'tell me how I'm supposed to carry on working for them now?'

**To be continued ….**


	17. Chapter 17

**This is the correct version of this chapter (newly updated)**

Phoebe's boots pounded the concrete, and her breath came in ragged bursts as she jogged along the dock, squinting to make out the names on the boats as she passed. The fog had appeared so unobtrusively that she'd hardly noticed it at first, but now it was like a blanket enveloping everything in its path. She knew that this wasn't exactly unusual; in fact San Francisco was famous for the thick fog that rolled in off the ocean every morning. It was just a quirk of nature and an accepted fact of life, especially down here by the water. Still she couldn't seem to shake the feeling of apprehension that had been tugging at her ever since she'd gotten here.

It wasn't the fog that she was afraid of, although she had to admit it did kinda lend a sinister overtone to the evening. She knew now why so many movie directors used the fog to create fear and suspense in their edge of the seat horror spectaculars. Sure the fog had an eerie quality all of its own, but it wasn't the fog that frightened her, it was more the things that might be hiding within it that she was worried about.

It was the perfect hiding place for all the demons, warlocks and associated nasties that other people only imagined, in their greatest moments of paranoia, were out there. Thinking that these things might be out there waiting for you was one thing, knowing that they were gave a whole new meaning to fear. She couldn't see anything, and the fog perfectly muffled sounds. There was no way of telling if someone or something was approaching or following or even worse quietly waiting to pounce.

Looking around, her senses on full alert, Phoebe picked up her pace. She'd lost track of how long she'd been running, but it had been a while and pretty soon she would have to turn around and head back to meet Paige and Cole. At this rate she would be going back with nothing to report. She only hoped that they had fared better in their sections of the dock. Her lungs were beginning to burn and her legs were heavy with fatigue, but she knew that she wasn't done yet. Time was of the essence and she couldn't afford to slow down now, the coven was counting on her, Piper and the baby were counting on her, and time was fast running out.

She was glad now that she'd kept up her fitness routine. She figured she was easily the fittest of the three Charmed Ones, always had been, even before Piper got pregnant and even when Prue was still alive. It was more out of necessity than choice really. Her sisters had active powers that allowed them to fight demons from a distance, but she didn't have that luxury. When she fought demons she had to get in close with a well-aimed punch or kick. She couldn't just blow them up from across the room, or freeze them, or send objects flying in their direction, or magically steal their weapons. Instead she had to rely on her own physical abilities, which meant training her skills, honing her body until she was confident that it would follow her commands.

She shook her head sadly. Training, it had been one of Cole's pet subjects. He had forever been nagging her to train, reminding her that she couldn't rely on her powers, that she had to be ready for whatever evil was there lurking in the fog, or round the next corner, waiting for her. She and Cole had spent hours training in different fighting techniques, pushing themselves until they were sweaty and exhausted, and then they'd cool off in the shower. She smiled briefly at the memory, there was nothing about those showers that was cold, all of the action had been sizzling hot!

Cole. She shook her head trying to clear it of the memory of their shower escapades. She honestly didn't know what she felt for him these days, and having him around tonight was making it all the more confusing. Paige didn't trust him that much was obvious, and after last time she really couldn't blame Paige for being suspicious. Piper seemed a little more open, but that could be pregnancy making her hormones go crazy.

Ever since he got back from the wasteland Phoebe herself had been wary around Cole. She had tried so very hard to let go of him and to move on, to create a life without him, but he just wouldn't let her, and now here he was all tangled up with her again. The problem was she just didn't know what he was doing here- helping or hindering? Was he friend or foe? She couldn't be sure. She'd only agreed to let him come along now because she didn't want Piper to put herself in danger. She was taking a risk with the coven and she knew it, but she'd rather take a chance on Cole than risk anything happening to her sister.

She didn't know what first alerted her to the presence, maybe a slight disturbance in the fog that she saw out of the corner of her eye, or a soft footfall just on the range of her hearing, or maybe it was the shiver that suddenly passed down her spine. It didn't matter how she knew, she just knew. Taking a deep breath Phoebe drew in all her energy and then exploded outwards with a spinning back kick that connected with something solid.

Phoebe quickly regained her balance and moved in to a fighting stance, bouncing lightly on her toes, always moving, ready to spring in to action just as Cole had taught her. Her assailant was still sprawled on the floor struggling to recover from the power of her kick. Around six foot with a shock of spiky blonde hair, and a toned physique, Phoebe might have found him attractive, sexy even, if they had met under different circumstances. Given that they were currently engaged in a fight to the death she was more interested in punching him than dating him.

'Guess you weren't expecting that huh?' she taunted still watching him warily. 'Betcha figured you could surprise me hiding in the fog like that, well think again buddy.'

Phoebe checked the desire to move in and deliver the killer blow. Sure he was still on the deck and he looked pretty hurt, but that could just be a ploy to draw her in before he attacked. He was a demon and it was gonna take more than one spinning back kick to finish him off, even if it was a pretty awesome kick. She circled him slowly, watching, waiting for him to make his move.

Coughing painfully and clutching bruised ribs, he began to back away from her, slowly shuffling across the ground, never once taking his eyes off her.

Phoebe had, had enough of this. She didn't have time to play around with this demon; too many lives were at stake. What she needed to do was beat him in to submission, and then get some information out of him. Purposefully she took a step towards him intending to finish the fight.

'No wait, Phoebe don't, we're on the same side' he said desperately, holding up a hand to ward her off.

Shocked in to hesitation, Phoebe stared at him in confusion. Still on her guard she watched his hand nervously, expecting an energy ball to appear there any second, but nothing happened.

'How do you know my name?' she asked suspiciously.

He laughed. 'I've been helping to protect you for the last five years, I'm pretty sure I can recognise you by now.' He offered his hand in greeting 'I'm Johnny.'

'You've been helping to protect me' Phoebe said doubtfully, ignoring his outstretched hand. 'How?'

He gave her a lazy grin, his blonde hair flopping attractively over one eye as he shook his head. 'You know I always had you figured as the smart one. Had a few doubts when you started dating that demon though, and now, geez I really thought you'd have figured it out. Guess you're not so smart after all.'

'Excuse me?' Phoebe asked in disbelief. 'You know you're in a pretty vulnerable position right now, I'd be careful about trading insults if I were you. In fact I kinda prefer trading blows, so if you don't mind lets get back to it...' she raised her fist.

'Easy. I was just kidding, letting off a little steam you know.' He gave her a weak grin. 'How about we start again? He said lightly. 'Look I've been freezing my ass off in this fog waiting for you to show up. I'm not exactly doing this for the good of my health you know.'

Phoebe opened her mouth to retaliate, but he cut her off 'look Phoebe, the least you could do is give me a chance to say what I need to say.'

'Okay I'm listening, but this better be good' Phoebe said tersely.

Johnny shook his head, and his eyes took on a haunted look 'I'm afraid good doesn't exactly cover it.' He took a deep breath and released it slowly. 'Guess there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna come right out and say it. The final coven has been destroyed, the shield has fallen, and you and your sisters are in grave danger.'

Phoebe laughed. 'Boy you sure do have a flair for the dramatic don't you. What are you some kind of mystical prophet of doom?'

She scowled. She wasn't enjoying this at all, the stakes were too high and the rules seemed to be changing with every passing second. This guy said he had been helping to protect her for the last five years, did that mean he was another whitelighter, or some other kind of guardian angel? If he was on the side of good, why didn't Leo know about him? She felt as though she was losing control of this whole situation. The last thing she needed right now was more games. It was bad enough that she had to deal with her confused feelings for Cole; now she had this enigmatic stranger to figure out too. Why couldn't people just be straight with you and let you know if they were trying to kill you or trying to save you?

She glared at him, her patience fast running out 'who are you?

'You mean you still haven't figured it out?' He asked in amazement.

'Look, I've had a really rough day okay' Phoebe said impatiently 'so why don't you just help me out here. It's a simple question. Who are you?'

'I'm part of the coven, the one that represents water' he explained hastily. 'The last of five covens sworn to protect the Charmed Ones in their fight against evil.'

'Aw come on, you expect me to believe that?' Phoebe said in disgust. 'Half the demons in town coulda come up with a line like that. So you know my name, so what? I'm a Charmed One, any self-respecting demon or warlock knows who we are, there's probably a whole chapter on us in the Grimoire.

'Actually from what I hear there are at least seven chapters on you, you shouldn't be so modest' he grinned.

Phoebe looked at him suspiciously. 'You know about me, you know about the shield, and you're intimately acquainted with the Grimoire. If I do the math on that one I'd say that you're one of the demons that's trying to kill me.' She raised her hands into fists once more 'so lets quit playing games and get this over with okay. It's been a really long day, and I've still got a column to finish.' She took another step towards him…

'I'll prove it to you' he said hastily.

Phoebe stopped mid-stride 'You'll prove it to me?'

'Yeah, just give me a chance.' Slowly, very slowly he reached over with his right hand towards his left sleeve. Phoebe tensed ready for action, and then relaxed when she realised that he was merely rolling up his sleeve.

'Here' he said showing her the inside of his left wrist 'I carry the mark of the coven.'

Phoebe dropped her fists and peered at his wrist, squinting in the half-light. Then she saw it, it was a tattoo, and the pattern that was seared in to his skin was a tiny replica of a wave, just as Leo had described. 'Water' she said softly.

'Yeah' he said sadly, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. 'It doesn't mean much now. I'm the only one left, the coven is gone.'

'What happened?' Phoebe asked softly, all traces of suspicion and animosity gone from her voice.

He sighed heavily. 'We'd agreed to meet out on the boat so that we could be close to the water. We knew what had happened to the other covens, we felt it. Every time a coven was destroyed we could feel the shield getting weaker. We knew that we were the last line of defence for the Charmed Ones, that if we were to fail the shield would be gone.'

He hesitated, and wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, forcing back the tears. 'We'd planned to cast a spell to magnify our power. We thought that maybe we could make up for the loss of the other four covens, get the shield back up to full strength.'

'And that's when the demons attacked?' Phoebe asked gently.

He nodded. 'They killed everyone; they didn't stand a chance. They destroyed the coven and sank the boat.'

'How did you get away?' Phoebe asked, aware of the slight tone of distrust in her voice.

He looked uncomfortable 'because I wasn't on the boat, I was late for the meeting. I got held up at work. I'm an ER doc. We had a major MVA come in just as I was finishing my shift. I had to stay and help, there was no choice.' He shook his head in despair 'they must have been waiting for me to start the ritual that's why they didn't get it done in time.'

'I'm sorry' Phoebe said softly, her heart going out to him. She knew what it was like to feel responsible for the death of a loved one. If she'd gotten out of the Underworld on time maybe she could have stopped Shax killing Prue. 'You lost friends tonight.'

'Yeah I did' he said hoarsely, staring out towards the ocean, lost in his own thoughts.

Phoebe stood awkwardly, painfully aware of what he was going through. She was loath to interrupt his grieving, but she knew that they no longer had the luxury of time.

'I'm sorry Johnny, but I can't stay here any longer, I have to get back to the Manor. With the shield gone we're vulnerable, and you can bet that Taric's made sure every demon and darklighter in San Francisco knows it. I have to get back and warn Piper before it's too late.'

'So' Paige asked archly 'Who's the dish?' She indicated Johnny, who was standing a little way apart from them giving them some privacy while they talked.

Phoebe shifted uncomfortably, acutely aware of Cole's brooding presence beside her. 'His name's Johnny, he's the only survivor from the coven.'

'Really, that's interesting, well then he could definitely be of use to us.' Paige looked at him appreciatively 'nice glutes.' She gave him just a hint of a smile and a flirtatious little wave. Johnny didn't seem to notice, his eyes were still haunted, his expression grim.

'Paige' Phoebe admonished slapping Paige's hand down. 'This is serious, the final coven is gone that means the shield is down. We're in real trouble here, this is no time to go getting distracted by some good looking guy.'

'I'm sorry' Paige apologised 'It's just you know, if you've got it, you've got it, and he's definitely got it.'

'I don't trust him' Cole interrupted brusquely. He glared at Johnny angrily 'don't you think it's just a little convenient that he managed to escape?'

'Maybe' Phoebe acknowledged. 'But right now we need all the help we can get, and he just might be able to help us.'

'Yeah well I'll be keeping my eye on him' Cole growled, giving Johnny another menacing glare.'

Phoebe patted him on the arm 'Okay Cole, you do that if it makes you feel better. Right now the only thing that'll make me feel better is getting back to the Manor and making sure that Piper's safe. She looked at both Paige and Cole, her eyes serious 'Lets go.'

'Okay you got it' Paige said brightly. 'How about Cole takes you, and I'll orb Johnny.' Purposefully she took a step towards him.

'Oh no you don't.' Phoebe argued, grabbing hold of Paige's arm and pulling her back. 'I think it's safer if we keep you out of temptation's way don't you?'

Paige sighed heavily 'I guess you're right, but when this is all over, I get to ask him out on a date okay.'

'Okay' Phoebe agreed, willing to say anything just to get everyone back to the Manor as quickly as possible. She took hold of Paige's hand and they orbed out.

Once they'd gone Cole strode over to Johnny, and when he spoke his tone was cold and menacing 'if you get in my way, if you spoil my plans, I won't hesitate. Do we understand each other?'

Johnny swallowed hard before answering 'we understand each other perfectly.'


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the delay in posting, but when I came to post the next chapter I realised that I'd made a mistake in an earlier posting and missed out an entire chapter! I only realised that something wasn't right because my chapter numbers didn't add up, and it took me quite a while to figure out what I'd done. Since everyone has read on, and somehow not noticed the mistake, I decided that rather than remove the offending chapter and repost I would try to re-work the information so that you can move forward with the story. For continuity reasons some of the information had to appear at the start of chapter 17, so you may want to go back and re-read the start of the chapter as there is new stuff there. The rest I have put in as chapter 18. Apologies for the mistake, but hopefully it should all make more sense now.**

'Okay Piper you're gonna have to run that by me again- slowly' Leo instructed.

Piper sighed heavily. 'Leo I've told you three times already, saying it again isn't gonna change the facts. The Elders deliberately let Prue die because they wanted to replace her with Paige. They blocked your powers so that you couldn't heal her that's just the way it is and you're gonna have to accept it.'

'No' Leo said hoarsely 'I don't believe that. There has to be some kind of mistake. The Elders are powerful forces of good they would never willingly kill. They wouldn't block my healing powers that's not the way they work. And anyway you can't cheat the Angel of Death you know that Piper. If it wasn't Prue's time to go he wouldn't have taken her.'

He looked at her confidently, convinced now that his argument was sound. 'It was Prue's time and there was nothing the Elders could do about it. I wasn't meant to save her.'

'Okay' Piper said doubtfully 'Well then if that's true, why would Grams lie about it? What possible reason could she have for stirring up trouble with the Elders, and alienating Paige for that matter? It just doesn't make any sense Leo.'

Leo rubbed his forehead trying to ease the knot of tension that had developed there. 'I don't know, maybe Grams is still bitter about Prue's death, and maybe she hasn't accepted Paige as part of the family' he offered. Or maybe' he continued noting Piper's sceptical look 'maybe she's been tricked somehow.'

'Tricked? Tricked by who?' Piper asked screwing her face up in confusion.

Leo shrugged. 'I don't know by a demon or a darklighter who wants to cause trouble for the Charmed Ones, you know divide and conquer. Maybe it's part of Taric's master plan, or it could even be Cole, did ya think of that? You have to admit you've been a lot less willing to listen to Paige since you heard about Prue, and now your sisters are out there trying to save a coven without you. If that is the plan then it's already working.'

'Okay, I guess that makes sense' Piper conceded. It hadn't occurred to her that the whole thing could be a trick. She'd just accepted the information on face value because it had come from Grams. If it was just a trick then Paige wasn't really responsible for Prue's death, and then she could stop having all these horrible feelings about Paige. Still she wasn't about to leap to any conclusions, especially when they didn't have any evidence, and then there were the other things that Grams had said.

'But what about all the other stuff?' she argued. 'What about all that stuff about our baby being written about in some prophesies, and changing the balance between good and evil? Do you believe any of that or is that just a trick too?'

Leo hesitated, looking a little guilty 'Well actually she might be right about that part, the Elders did mention something.' Piper opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off 'I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I thought that knowing something like that might be too much pressure and besides we can't be sure. It's a possibility, but the prophecies aren't exactly specific. And well I was gonna tell you' he finished lamely.

'Oh really. And when exactly were you planning on telling me Leo? When the baby is 18? When she suddenly develops incredible powers? When?' Piper demanded. She could feel the anger simmering beneath the surface and she was sorely tempted to blow something up.

Leo shifted uncomfortably 'I was waiting until we had more information, at least until after the baby was born. I talked it all through with Phoebe and we agreed that it was better that you didn't know.'

'Phoebe?' Piper was incredulous. 'You talked it all through with Phoebe! Well that's just great Leo, who else did ya tell?'

'Well Paige obviously' Leo said quietly.

'Obviously' Piper echoed him bitterly. 'Anyone else?' she looked at him inquiringly, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. 'How about my staff at P3? Phoebe's colleagues at the newspaper? The guy who delivers the mail?'

Leo sighed heavily 'Okay I might have mentioned it to Darryl, but that's it Piper I swear.'

Piper scowled. 'And not one of you thought that I deserved to know about the future of my own child? You're unbelievable.'

'It wasn't like that Piper honestly' Leo said quickly, trying to pacify her. 'We just wanted to be sure, we didn't wanna get you all worked up over nothing, it's not good for…' he lapsed in to a miserable silence, suddenly realising that he had inadvertently returned them to their original disagreement.

'Alright I get it' Piper said crankily. 'You were worried about the effect it might have on the baby, I know. But Leo we've just been through this. I have to know that you understand why I need you to stop trying to protect me. You have to let me know what's going on and let me deal with it my own way.'

She looked at him intently, trying to gauge his reaction. 'How can I trust you if you keep on hiding things from me? I know that you did it with the best intentions, but Leo you're my husband, and Phoebe and Paige are my sisters, and if I can't trust you then I can't trust anything.'

'I know, I know you're right, we should have told you' Leo admitted, instantly contrite. 'It's just I love you Piper, and even though I know that you can take care of yourself, it doesn't stop me worrying.'

Piper smiled and gave his hand an affectionate squeeze 'I know that Leo, and I'm not asking you to stop worrying. I worry about you too you know.'

'I know' Leo said, sighing heavily. He hated to think of Piper worrying about him, but he knew that it came with the territory. It was part of being in love.

I'm just asking you to be honest with me' Piper continued, using the same firm tone she had adopted earlier. 'I need to know what's going on, and that means everything that's going on. Okay?'

'Okay' Leo agreed, finally relenting.

'So' Piper looked at him questioningly. 'Is there anything else that I should know about?'

Leo shook his head 'No I think that's everything.'

'Are you sure' Piper looked at him suspiciously.

'I'm sure' Leo promised.

'Good' Piper breathed a sigh of relief. 'Well now we got that straightened out hadn't you better get going?'

'Going?' Leo asked in confusion. 'Going where?'

'Well isn't it obvious?' Piper asked. 'You have to go see the Elders and ask them if Grams' story about Paige is true? If she was right about that other stuff she could be right about this too, and if she's wrong, and it is all part of some demonic master plan then it means that Taric or Cole or whoever the hell is really behind all this is a hell of a lot smarter than we thought. '

'So Leo, I suppose you want an answer from me.' Michael said gravely. He looked at his young apprentice remembering how he had mentored Leo for a time when he first became a whitelighter. They had developed a close bond over the years, more like father and son than teacher and pupil. Leo had long since outgrown him, become a competent whitelighter in his own right, but still he always turned to Michael whenever he needed guidance, just as he needed him now. Michael sighed heavily. It was time to tell Leo the truth; he owed him that at least.

Leo nodded, watching the Elderly whitelighter carefully.

Michael stroked his beard contemplatively 'You know Leo, I'm a little surprised you haven't come to me sooner with your question, but no matter you're here now. Are you sure you're ready to hear the answer?'

Leo hesitated for only a moment and then taking a deep breath he said 'Yes Michael, I need to know. Did the Elders deliberately let Prue die so that they could replace her with Paige?'

**To be continued ……**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry for keeping you waiting, hope you enjoy the next instalment.**

'Okay Piper, the cliff notes version, all the covens have been destroyed and the shield is down, and we could be inundated with demons any second ' Paige said nervously, looking around for any signs of impending demon attacks.

'Yeah and without the shield our powers aren't gonna be as strong' Phoebe added. She couldn't believe this; she had to get Piper and the baby out of here before anything bad happened to them.

'Okay well then we need to focus' Piper said reasonably, instinctively taking over the leadership role. 'I've had a few ideas about a vanquishing potion, but we really need to start work on re-powering the shield. May be we should try the book again.'

Phoebe looked at her in disbelief 'I don't understand how you can be so calm about this.'

'I'm being calm because panicking isn't gonna help' Piper said, looking at Phoebe in surprise. 'C'mon Phoebe you know that. This is no worse than anything we've faced before. We just have to do what we always do, come up with a plan that's all.'

Piper was feeling a whole lot better about things since her heart-to-heart with Leo. Okay so he hadn't come back yet with an answer about Paige, and that made her a little nervous, but there was a chance that Grams had got things wrong about Paige and Prue. On top of that they had made some progress in sorting out their recent marital differences. Feeling more secure about Leo's love made her feel more confident about the rest of her life. There was nothing she couldn't handle if she knew that she had Leo's support.

'That's all?' Phoebe was incredulous. 'Piper we could be attacked any second by demons who want to hurt your baby. You have to get out of here now.'

'I'm not going anywhere' Piper said firmly. 'If the bad guys wanna hurt my baby, they're gonna have to get past me first, and you know what I'm sick of hiding from them, and I'm sure as hell not gonna run away. If they want a fight I say bring it on, I'm ready for them.'

'Actually Piper's right' Johnny interjected 'I really think you're gonna need the power of three on this one.'

'Exactly' Piper said, then she stopped, and looked puzzled as she noticed Johnny for the first time 'I'm sorry, who are you? She turned to Phoebe and Paige 'who is he?'

'Oh sorry I forgot. Piper this is Johnny, the only survivor from the last coven' Phoebe explained quickly. 'We thought he might be able to help.'

'Oh, okay well that's good' Piper nodded taking that information in her stride. 'He might be able to help us with the shield. Now he's right about one thing, we're gonna need the power of three, which means you need me, which means I'm staying right here. I don't need you fighting me on this okay Phoebe' she insisted, seeing Phoebe open her mouth to protest, 'we don't have time for that.'

Phoebe sighed heavily. She hadn't realised until now just how much Piper was like Prue. Piper had always known her own mind, but since she'd taken over as head of the family, she'd definitely gotten more stubborn. In the past she'd had trouble standing up for herself, but not anymore. These days she was confident, and assertive, a true leader. Phoebe guessed it had to do with being the oldest sister, the one everybody looked to, to make the decisions.

For a moment she thought guiltily about how often she'd given Prue a hard time, arguing with her and going against her wishes. She remembered how it had always been Piper who had resolved the problem, mediated between them. She guessed that was her role now, after all she was the middle sister, no longer the baby of the family. She knew that she could have been more supportive of Prue, and that the two of them had wasted so much time, neither of them realising how precious that time was. It had been a mistake, a mistake that she bitterly regretted.

She wasn't gonna make that same mistake with Piper. They'd always had a close relationship, even when she'd moved to New York; she'd stayed in contact with Piper. She'd always found Piper to be more tolerant and understanding than Prue, and to her chagrin she'd kinda played on that when they were younger, had always known how to get round Piper, had abused her sister's sweet nature.

She owed Piper a lot and she knew it. If it hadn't been for Piper's unwavering support and encouragement she would have stayed in New York, living out an empty existence. Endless parties, countless meaningless relationships, they had all been a symptom of her desperate need to belong, a need that had been fulfilled when she moved back in to the Manor and had a chance to grow closer to her sisters.

She and Piper had gotten even closer since losing Prue, and she didn't want anything to come between them. She would still prefer to see Piper safely ensconced with the Elders, but in the past Piper had believed in her, had given her a chance when no one else had, and she knew from Piper's earnest expression that her older sister needed her to return that favour now.

Reluctantly she nodded 'Okay, you win, no more arguments from me.'

'Thank you' Piper smiled, relieved. She didn't wanna fall out with Phoebe now, not when she was feeling so awkward around Paige, she needed to feel connected to at least one of her sisters. Their strength as the Charmed Ones was rooted in their bond as sisters, and tonight that bond had been badly shaken. She prayed fervently that Leo would return soon and tell her that Grams had been wrong.

At least her relationship with Phoebe was solid. She had to admit that she was impressed by Phoebe's mature attitude. In the past Phoebe would have continued the argument just for the sake of arguing, but Phoebe had grown up a lot over the last few years. She still had that rebellious streak, but she'd started taking responsibility for her life, had turned things around, and she deserved a lot of credit for that.

Prue had always been frustrated and angry at Phoebe's outrageous antics, but she had been sympathetic, seeing them for what they were, a cry for help. Things had been tough for Phoebe when they were kids, mom had died when Phoebe was too young to remember her, and with Dad abandoning them it was little wonder Phoebe had been so wild. Things had been different after mom died, Grams had changed, become stricter and less tolerant, and life at the Manor had been less fun. She and Prue had gotten to enjoy those happier, carefree times, but Phoebe's early years had been fraught with tension, and all that wild behaviour was just her way of expressing her pain.

Phoebe sure had gone through a lot, losing her parents, then Grams and Prue, and then everything that had happened last year with Cole. Cole. Piper narrowed her eyes, studying him carefully, noticing how his eyes never left Phoebe. He'd been very quiet since they'd gotten back from the harbour, and it was obvious that he didn't like the new guy. She wasn't sure what was going on with Cole, what his plans were, but right now she didn't have time to worry about him, she had to deal with the bigger threat.

Startled out of her reverie, Piper jumped as Leo suddenly orbed in beside her 'Okay Piper I spoke to the Elders and they said….' his voice trailed off as he realised that Piper was no longer alone.

'Oh yes Leo, Leo's back everyone. So Leo what did the Elders say about re-powering the shield?' Piper asked, covering quickly, and little too enthusiastically.

Luckily Leo followed her lead 'Erm okay, well actually the Elders don't know much, in fact they're not sure if the shield can be re-powered once the covens have been destroyed. They think it might be a one time deal.'

'Oh great' Paige exclaimed in frustration. 'Without the shield we're sitting ducks. So what are we supposed to do just wait for them to attack us?'

Piper breathed a sigh of relief that she and Leo had gotten away with it. She was desperate to know what the Elders had told Leo, but there was no way she could ask him now, not with everyone here. She gave him a little questioning look, hoping that he would give something away, but his expression was unreadable. She'd have to try and manufacture a moment alone with him to find out the truth, but right now even that would have to wait. Prue's death was in the past and there was nothing she could do to change it, the present on the other hand she could do something about.

Forcing her mind to focus on the job at hand, Piper took a deep breath and turned to Paige 'no we're not gonna just sit around and wait for them to attack, that's not how we work' she said determinedly. 'We're gonna fix this, all of this. First we're gonna figure out how to re-power this shield thingy, and then we're gonna vanquish Taric's sorry ass. Okay?'

'Okay' Paige repeated.

'Good' Piper nodded. 'So come on people lets see a little action.'

'I'll check the book' Paige volunteered, feeling the need to be actually doing something. She felt totally inadequate. She'd spent weeks studying the book in minute detail, she should have been able to reel off a whole list of suggestions, but now on the spot like this she couldn't think of anything to help. Maybe she didn't have what it took; maybe she wasn't a match for Prue after all. Shaking off the depressing thought, she went right back to the beginning and started looking through the book systematically, scanning every single page. There had to be something in there, something that she'd missed. Finally she slammed the book shut in defeat. There just wasn't anything there or if there was she sure couldn't find it.

'Well come on keep looking' Piper chided.

'I can't find anything' Paige admitted.

'Try again' Piper insisted, unwilling to give up so easily.

Paige sighed heavily, but nevertheless she obeyed Piper's instructions, whilst the others waited in expectant silence.

'Anything?' Phoebe asked eventually, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Paige shook her head 'No nothing.'

'Aw come on there's gotta be something in there' Cole protested, speaking for the first time since their return from the harbour. 'I mean the answer's always right there in the book, everyone knows that, why do you think demons are so desperate to get their hands on it?'

Impatiently he grabbed the book out of Paige's hands, and began to look through it himself. 'Binding powers – no, that's no good, stripping powers –yeah we could probably do something with that…'

'Oh my God!' Paige shrieked suddenly, making everyone jump.

'What?' Piper asked. She looked around wildly for the source of the attack, but saw nothing. 'Paige? What?'

But Paige could only stare mutely at Cole.

'Paige, honey what's wrong?' Phoebe asked gently, exchanging a worried look with Piper. She wondered fleetingly if panic was causing Paige to hallucinate. Paige hadn't been doing the Charmed gig for as long as the rest of them had, and may be the thought of mass demon attacks had given her the jitters. She sure wouldn't blame Paige for that, she felt a little jittery herself right now.

Still unable to speak Paige continued to gesture wildly at Cole.

'Paige, what is it?' Piper asked impatiently, completely baffled, and a little irritated by Paige's erratic behaviour. Then suddenly she saw what Paige saw 'Oh my God!'

'What?' Phoebe demanded, still not getting it.

'The book' Piper jabbered, pointing at Cole.

Uncomprehending, Phoebe stared at her as if Piper had taken leave of her senses 'yes the Book of Shadows, I know I've seen it before. What's everybody getting all excited about?'

Piper tried again, more slowly 'The book, Cole, Cole's holding the book.'

'Oh my God' Phoebe screeched, leaping away from Cole.

Slowly Cole looked down at the book in his hands. He had only been able to touch the book once before, back when he had been human, when he had been stripped of his powers. His face broke in to a smile of disbelief. 'Oh my God. Phoebe do you know what this means?'

'It's evil.' Phoebe said in dismay. 'Somehow Taric's turned the book evil.' She turned to Piper warily 'Does that mean that we're turning evil now too?'

'I don't know' Piper said worriedly. 'I don't feel any different. Do you feel any different?'

Phoebe shook her head 'No. Hey the last time we turned evil we got all sorts of evil powers remember? Piper see if you can blink.'

'Okay' Piper said uneasily. She stood very still, and concentrated hard for a moment- nothing. 'Huh, well I guess that didn't work.'

Phoebe looked at Piper thoughtfully for a moment, her brain trying to make sense of it all. Suddenly she pointed accusingly at Piper's stomach. 'It must be that big belly that's weighing you down.'

Piper looked down at her stomach and then opened her mouth to respond, but Phoebe wasn't listening, instead she walked slowly around Piper, appraising her from different angles. A little disconcerted Piper watched her, turning full circle as she tried to follow Phoebe's path.

Finally Phoebe stopped walking 'Y'know come to think of it Piper you have put on a little extra weight recently.' She wagged a finger in Piper's face 'Ya might wanna try laying off the cookies for a while' she scolded. 'Otherwise you're not gonna be able to get back in your favourite jeans when you're done with the whole pregnancy thing.'

'Evil' Piper said accusingly pointing at Phoebe. 'Definitely evil.'

'It could just be that your invincibility is protecting you from turning evil Piper, and that's why you can't blink' Leo suggested quickly in an attempt to mollify Piper who was now looking daggers at Phoebe. 'Phoebe why don't you try?' He suggested.

Phoebe nodded eagerly. 'Okay here goes.' She concentrated for a moment – nothing.

'Paige?' Leo asked.

'Forget it I already tried.' Paige admitted.

'Well if we're not evil, and the book's not evil' Piper said slowly 'Then that can only mean …'

'I must be good.' Cole finished the sentence for her, grinning broadly.

**To be continued …..**


	20. Chapt 20

'No, no, no. This cannot be happening. This just cannot be happening' Phoebe said in disbelief as she paced up and down the room.

Isn't this great' Cole said. 'I told you I was good. Didn't I tell you I was good?' He stepped in front of her and took hold of her shoulders, forcing her to stop pacing. 'Now do you believe me?'

Cole's face fell as Phoebe pulled away from him. 'I don't know how you've done this Cole, but I need you to stop it right now.'

'Stop what?' Cole asked. 'I'm good now, why can't you just accept that?'

'Because it doesn't make any sense' Phoebe said. 'You can't just suddenly become good like that for no reason, it doesn't work that way.'

'But I had a reason Phoebe' Cole said softly 'I had you. I love you Phoebe, I've always loved you.'

'Yeah right' Paige interrupted cynically. 'You said that last time, right before you made her Queen of the Underworld.'

She stepped in between them with her back to Cole. 'Look Phoebe I don't know how he's doing this, but I promise you I will find a way to figure it out okay.'

Phoebe groaned and dropped dejectedly on to the couch.

'Leo do you know anything about this?' Piper asked, her eyes never once leaving Phoebe who was now holding her head in her hands.

Leo shook his head 'No. I'm as surprised by this as you are.'

Piper turned to Johnny who had been silent so far 'what about you, any ideas?'

Johnny shrugged 'I guess it's possible' he said slowly. 'I mean I've never actually heard of someone turning from evil to good, but if you guys can be turned evil, I guess it's possible that a demon could be made good' he looked at Cole for confirmation 'right?'

'Right' Cole agreed. 'It sure makes sense to me.' He moved over to sit beside Phoebe on the couch. Tentatively he took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. 'Phoebe, are you okay?'

Phoebe shook her head 'I don't know Cole. I don't know what I feel, I just, I can't deal with this right now.'

'But this is a good thing right?' He pressed. 'I mean this changes everything. If I'm good then it means that we can be together, that we're meant to be together. Phoebe this is what we've always wanted.'

She pulled her hand away from his. 'It just doesn't make any sense. I mean why you and why now?'

'That's it Phoebe.' Paige said encouragingly 'You're right, it doesn't make sense, which is how I know that he's done this. It's some kind of trick or spell or something, I just haven't figured it out yet.'

'Well there is one way to settle this' Piper suggested. She turned to Leo 'Honey why don't you go ask the Elders, find out what they know about this, and while you're doing that, we'll try and figure out a way to stop Taric.'

'Okay.' Leo agreed doubtfully. 'But what if the demons start attacking while I'm away? If someone gets hurt…' his voice trailed off

'Don't worry; we'll call if we need you' Piper promised. Then seeing his concerned look she continued 'I'm indestructible remember, and besides you'll only be an orb away.'

'Be careful' Leo begged, pulling Piper close for a hug.

'Always' she reassured him. Burying her face in his plaid shirt, she squeezed her eyes shut and held him tight. For a moment she didn't want to let go, it felt so good to have his arms around her.

Reluctantly she broke free and stepped away from him. As Leo orbed out Piper turned to the others, quickly taking command of the situation. 'Okay so the only way to vanquish an upper level demon is with a potion right?'

'Right' Paige agreed.

'So' Piper continued. 'We need to make a vanquishing potion, and we need to figure out a way to re-power this protective shield thingy and we need to do it really fast. Paige, Cole, Johnny, you three work on the shield, Phoebe in the kitchen, you're helping me with the potion.'

Both Paige and Cole opened their mouths to protest, but Piper cut them off 'argue later, shield now.' She walked over to Phoebe who was sitting on the couch staring in to space. Piper sighed heavily, and then clapped her hands loudly in front of Phoebe's face 'Phoebe c'mon snap out of it let's go.'

Startled Phoebe jumped, and then looked at Piper in confusion.

'Vanquishing potion, kitchen, now' Piper instructed, knowing that simple commands were about all Phoebe could cope with.

Without a word Phoebe got up and followed Piper in to the kitchen.

To be continued … 


	21. Chapter 21

**Apologies for the extended delay, but I do have an explanation. I actually wrote this chapter months ago, and when I came to post it a few weeks ago I re-read it ( I always re-read just before posting) and realised that it just wasn't right. Somehow the tone and message of the chapter didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with it, and to muster the courage to remove a large chunk of my previous hard work! Anyway I've done it. I hope the re-writes were worth it.**

'Okay, so what'ya thinking?' Piper asked gently, as she added mandrake root to the pot that was already bubbling merrily on the hob.

'Huh?' Phoebe asked, looking blankly at the selection of herbs on the counter in front of her without really seeing them.

Piper tried again 'well ya know you haven't really said very much about Cole.'

'Well what do you want me to say?' Phoebe asked bleakly. Her whole world had just been turned upside down, and she was having real trouble re-orientating herself. She'd dreamt about Cole turning good plenty of times, but she knew that this wasn't a dream, this was real, and she didn't have the first idea how she was gonna handle it.

Piper was silent for a moment, her eyes scanning the herbs and spices on the counter, seeking inspiration. Carefully she added a little ginger, figuring it might add some kick. 'I just wanna know how you feel about it. I worry about you, you know.'

Phoebe grimaced 'I know you do Piper, and I don't want you to worry about me. I mean you've got enough to worry about with the baby and everything. I can handle this myself, don't worry about me.'

Sighing heavily, Piper put her arm around Phoebe and gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. 'Phoebe I'm your big sister.' She patted her swollen stomach 'and big sure is the best word to describe me right now' she pulled a face at her own lame joke.

When Phoebe didn't respond Piper continued more seriously 'Look Phoebe, pregnant or not, it's my job to worry about you, it kinda comes with the territory, so just let me do my job okay?'

Phoebe smiled weakly 'Okay.'

'Okay' Piper smiled too, pleased to have gotten through at last. Grimacing she picked up the pig's trotter and holding it at arm's length, dropped it in to the pot. She'd always hated that part. She let the potion simmer for a while and then nodded in satisfaction 'all we need now is the flesh of the demon and we're good. We'd better get working on that summoning spell, get him here before his friends launch the surprise attack.' She said the words more to herself than to Phoebe who still appeared dazed and confused.

The potion done, she took it off the heat so that she could give Phoebe her full attention. 'So, tell me what you're thinking.'

'I'm scared.' Phoebe admitted softly.

'Of what?' Piper probed gently.

Phoebe shook her head. 'I don't know, of him, of us. I mean what if this is another trick? I just can't go through all that again. I won't let myself get hurt like that again.'

Piper nodded sympathetically, and then asked the question that she knew had to be asked 'and what if it's not a trick? What if he really is good? '

Phoebe shook her head helplessly 'I don't know. I'd just gotten to the point where I'd accepted that it wasn't meant to be, that my life didn't include Cole. I was moving on, doing okay you know, and then this happens.'

Piper, her heart breaking, swept Phoebe in to a hug. 'Oh honey, look whatever happens we'll deal with it. We'll deal with it together okay.'

'Okay.' Phoebe whispered.

'Okay there's gotta be something in the book about re-activating this energy shield' Cole muttered, flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows as he spoke.

Paige eyed him suspiciously 'how about you let us worry about the book and you go ask some of your demon buddies for information' she suggested.

Cole looked up at her in surprise 'because Piper told us to work together on the shield.'

'And since when did you start doing everything Piper tells you?' Paige asked in disbelief.

'Since I decided she made a whole lot of sense' Cole responded irritably, turning his attention back to the book. 'Now are you gonna help me figure this out or are you just gonna stand there glaring at me all day?'

'I'd just feel a whole lot better if you didn't have a hold of the book that's all' Paige insisted. 'So how about you hand it over.'

When he didn't respond she walked over and yanked the book out of his hands, clutching it protectively against her chest.

'Hey' Cole protested. He scowled. 'What exactly is your problem with me?' He asked indignantly.

'I just don't trust you' Paige said bluntly. 'You might have the others fooled, but you don't fool me. I was the only one who saw through your little charade last time. You nearly destroyed this family and you left me to pick up the pieces.'

'That must have been real tough' Johnny interjected, surprising them both, and gaining a glare from Cole. 'You must have felt like they didn't respect your opinion.'

'Yeah, it really sucked' Paige agreed. 'You know you're right I think that was the hardest part about it, the fact that they didn't have faith in me.' She smiled at him 'You know it's so great to finally meet a guy who's so intuitive and sensitive.'

Cole snorted in derision 'Aw c'mon you're really gonna fall for a line like that. Paige you have no idea who this guy is, you don't know anything about him. For all you know he could be playing you.'

He shook his head in disgust 'I can't believe this, I mean he says he's a member of the coven and you all just believe him, just like that no questions asked. You know exactly how I feel about Phoebe and yet you won't give me a chance. Why?'

'Because Cole, things have only just gotten back to normal around here after the last time you showed us how you felt about Phoebe, and I won't let you hurt my family again' Paige said firmly.

'You've got me all wrong' Cole complained indignantly. 'I'm not trying to hurt anyone; I'm trying to help you. I'm good now. Geez, even the book knows that I'm good otherwise I wouldn't be able to touch it.'

Paige shrugged. 'You can keep on saying it all you want Cole, but you're wasting your breath, I'm not gonna believe you. She sighed. 'Prue never trusted you and neither do I.'

Cole frowned, remembering the run ins he'd had with the mighty Prue Halliwell. She'd been suspicious of him right from the start, had made his job that much more difficult. Even when he'd crossed over to work for the forces of good, she'd never really trusted him, never thought that he was good enough for Phoebe. He'd tolerated her because she meant so much to Phoebe, but there'd never been any love lost between them. He shrugged. 'Prue never gave me a chance, she wouldn't listen, always figured she knew better than anyone else.'

Paige sank down on the couch, and began to flip through the book hoping against hope that inspiration would strike. 'Yeah well from what I hear Prue usually did know better than everyone else' she said wistfully. 'I'll bet if she were here right now she'd have figured out how to deal with this, and' she looked at him meaningfully 'there's no way she'd let you anywhere near this book.'

'And since she's not here you figured you'd take over her old job of persecuting me.' Cole shook his head in disbelief, a smile twitching at his lips. 'Oh that's priceless it really is.'

Paige narrowed her eyes at him 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Cole laughed 'Oh come on Paige it's obvious.' He looked at her incredulously 'It doesn't take a shrink to figure you out, it's written all over you.'

'What's written all over me?' Paige asked defensively. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. Somehow she'd allowed him to get the upper hand in this conversation.

'You're inferiority complex about Prue.' Cole shook his head in dismay. 'Even after all this time, after everything you've been through, you're still trying to prove yourself to them, still trying to show them that you can match up to Prue.'

Paige bit her lip. He was right. She was still trying to prove herself to her sisters; sometimes she did still feel like they doubted her. She had tried hard to bury her feelings of insecurity, to convince herself that she was over reacting, but every now and then there were signs, signs that she just couldn't seem to ignore, and lately it had been getting worse.

Just tonight, she had noticed Piper's coolness towards her, the lack of faith in her judgement. In the beginning she'd had to work real hard to break through Piper's defences, to gain her sister's acceptance, Phoebe had been much more willing to welcome her in to the family. The somewhat difficult start had always meant that she'd been less certain of Piper's feelings for her. She'd thought that she and Piper had reached some kind of understanding, that she'd gained some element of acceptance and respect from her eldest sister, but tonight it hadn't felt that way. Tonight Piper had treated her like the inexperienced rookie she used to be. Perhaps she hadn't come that far after all.

'You're wasting your time' Cole told her bluntly, interrupting her maudlin thoughts. 'Prue died fighting to protect an innocent, it's the ultimate sacrifice, and there's no way anyone can compete with that. She's become a legend, a romanticised figure. When they think about her they don't remember the arguments, or how bossy she was, or how she always figured she could go out and fix everything herself, they only remember the good things. It's human nature, it's just the way it is and you might as well accept it.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Paige asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

Cole shrugged. 'I don't know. I'm good now. I'm just tryin' to help.' He sighed heavily. 'You know Paige I hate to see you wasting your time with a competition that you can't hope to win. It's not the way to play things'

'And I'm guessing you know exactly what I should do right?' Paige smirked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Cole grinned deliberately ignoring her sarcasm. 'You bet I do. It's quite simple actually, to be honest I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, but then I guess you're so wrapped up in your paranoia about Prue you can't think straight.'

'I'm listening' Paige told him impatiently.

'You just have to be yourself Paige that's all' Cole said simply.

Thrown of guard by the honest simplicity of his words, which were totally unexpected from him, Paige could only stare in stunned silence, and that was when the first demon attacked.

**To be continued ….**


	22. Chapter 22

Paige orbed out seconds before the energy ball exploded, scorching the couch and setting the Christmas tree alight. Cole spun quickly in the direction of the attack and threw his own energy ball in retaliation. The demon was too slow and exploded, screaming in agony.

'Phoebe, Piper demon attack now' Paige yelled, ducking the energy ball from the new demon that had shimmered in beside Cole, and planting an elbow in the face of the Warlock who had sneakily blinked in behind her. The Warlock stumbled back right in to the path of Phoebe who had come running from the kitchen. She rabbit punched him to the jaw, and Johnny finished him off with a heavy blow to the back of the head with the Book of Shadows. The Warlock slumped to the floor unconscious, and Cole obliterated him with a vicious flame.

'Now that's what I call teamwork' Phoebe grinned in satisfaction.

'Yeah that's us one perfectly functioning team' Paige zinged back.

'Duck' Phoebe instructed suddenly.

'What?' Paige asked, screwing up her face in confusion.

'Duck' Phoebe repeated, pushing Paige to the floor as Cole's energy ball whizzed above their heads and took out the demon that had been poised to blow them both to hell.

'Phew, that was a close one.' Phoebe exclaimed, getting up quickly and glancing around to ensure that there weren't any more attacks imminent.

'A little too close' Paige muttered, casting a confused look in Cole's direction as she struggled to get to her feet. She just couldn't figure him out. Before she'd been so sure that he was evil. The trick with the book was just that a trick. Now though she wasn't so sure. The stuff he'd said earlier had kinda made sense, and it almost seemed like he was trying to help her. After all he had just saved her life but then again that could just be part of his bigger plan, he could be playing her. I t wasn't like he hadn't tried something like that before. She frowned, irritated by the feeling of confusion but soon relaxed her features in to a smile when Johnny stepped forward and offered her his hand. 'Thanks' she said gratefully as he helped her to her feet. 'And nice moves on that warlock by the way.'

'Thanks' Johnny bobbed his head in acknowledgement.

'Okay we need to speed things up a little, before Taric's forces have a chance to re-group' Phoebe said decisively. It was weird, but the threat of the attack had snapped her out of her trance. When Paige had called for help she'd reacted instinctively. All that training she and Cole had done had come to her rescue yet again. She glanced at him and then quickly looked away, turning to Paige instead 'so did the three of you make any progress with the shield?'

'Erm, well…' Paige began hesitantly.

'Okay I'm here, I'm ready, let me at 'em' Piper gasped, a little out of breath, as she burst in to the room making everyone jump. Eagerly she scanned the room looking for something to fight, then lowered her hands in disappointment when she realised it was just her sisters, Johnny and Cole. 'What it's over? I missed it?' She asked in disbelief. 'Ya couldn't have saved me one lousy demon, you knew I was on my way.'

'I'm sorry honey it all happened so fast' Phoebe explained apologetically. 'We kinda just had to react. You know what it's like in the heat of battle when the adrenalin's pumpin' and you're in the moment, you just have to go with it.'

'I guess' Piper admitted sulkily, still struggling to catch her breath. 'But I still think you could have saved me a little action after I made all that effort to get in here. It's no fun running for two you know.'

'Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure you'll get your chance, I doubt that's the last demon attack we gonna see tonight' Johnny consoled her.

'Huh. You know I hadn't thought of that' Piper acknowledged. 'But now I do think about it, I think you're right.' She grinned, brightening up considerably at the possibility of more action.

Phoebe frowned not appreciating Piper's gung ho attitude, and wishing now that she'd persuaded Piper to sit this one out with the Elders. She should have insisted, but she hadn't and now Piper and the baby were at risk. Until Leo got back Piper was officially grounded and that meant that she was a target. She couldn't believe that she'd let this happen. She would never have made such a dumb mistake if she hadn't been so distracted by Cole and her feelings for him.

She looked at him again, this time allowing her gaze to linger. He was standing off on his own staring moodily out of the window. Just looking at him made her heart somersault in her rib cage. She wanted him; there was no denying it. He must have sensed her eyes on him, because he turned and looked at her questioningly. Those dark eyes of his seemed to bore in to her very soul. How she wished she could just run over there and give in to her need for him, just lose herself in his love.

'We'd better get ready' Cole said suddenly, snapping Phoebe out of her reverie 'that was just the beginning, there'll be more where they came from.'

'Cole's right.' Phoebe admitted, dragging her thoughts back to the job at hand. 'We don't have a lot of time. So Paige, the shield, any progress?'

Paige looked a little sheepish 'Well not exactly, it's just that well…'

Before she could finish the sentence, two demons shimmered in to the centre of the room and sent energy balls heading straight for Piper. She rolled her eyes, and casually gestured with both hands. The energy balls froze in midair three feet away. 'Is that it?' she asked her sisters disparagingly. 'Weeks of warming the bench and when I finally get back in the game that's all I get?' She moved to blow them up.

'May I?' Paige asked. 'I could use the practice, my aim's been a little off lately.'

Piper shrugged, already bored with the demons. What she needed was a real threat, something to get her teeth in to. It'd been so long since she'd been in the thick of the action and she missed it. She missed that feeling of danger, of feeling alive, of feeling like she made a difference. It would be good to get back to her old self, or as close to it as she could get whilst eight months pregnant 'be my guest.'

Paige held out her hands 'energy balls.'

Obediently an energy ball appeared in each of her hands. She turned to aim them at the frozen demons. Before she could let fly the demons unfroze.

'Oh, oh' Piper muttered. 'Looks like they're fighting through my freezes.'

'It must be because the shield's down' Paige suggested helpfully.

'Paige, the demons' Piper reminded her, raising her hands just in case, as both demons bore down on her.

'Oh right, sorry.' Paige threw the energy balls taking out the demons, but not before one had let loose his own energy ball at Piper. Too slow to react, Piper was hit, and flew through the air landing unceremoniously on the couch.

'Oh my God Piper, are you alright?' Phoebe yelled in alarm, rushing over to her.

'Yeah' Piper grimaced, struggling to sit up 'indestructible remember.' She tried again to get up, but only succeed in sinking deeper in to the soft confines of the couch. 'Hey you know I could use a little help here' she admonished, waving her hands at her sisters.

'Oh' Phoebe said, finally getting it. She took hold of Piper's left arm; Paige came over and took her right arm, and with some effort they hauled Piper to her feet.

'I'm really sorry Piper' Paige said anxiously, aware that she'd screwed up yet again. 'I wasn't expecting them to unfreeze that fast.'

'Forget it' Piper brushed the apology away. 'Who knew the shield would affect our powers that much.'

'So four demons and one Warlock, do you think that was it?' Phoebe asked hopefully.

Piper looked around her at the devastation that was the lounge 'I sure hope so I don't think the furniture can take any more abuse. We just got that clock repaired last week, and oh would ya look at the tree.'

They all turned to stare at the very sorry looking Christmas tree, which was now smouldering gently. Phoebe shook her head in dismay 'Poor tree, I knew we shoulda got a fake one.'

'Oh really, well next year missy you can be the head of the decorating committee' Paige said indignantly. It had taken her a week to deck out the Manor for the holidays and now all her hard work was ruined.'

'Oh honey I didn't mean it like that' Phoebe said apologetically.

'I put a lot of work in to making this place look nice for the holidays' Paige said huffily. 'The least you could do is show a little appreciation.'

'We do appreciate it Paige' Piper assured her 'it's just that well you know subtlety isn't exactly your forte, and with the amount of demon attacks we get around here, that many decorations really is asking for trouble.'

'It's Christmas' Paige protested. 'It's the season of excess, too much food, too many presents, too many decorations. Christmas isn't meant to be subtle it's meant to be gaudy and over the top.'

'Not in this house it's not. In this house Christmas is simple and stylish and easy to keep clean' Piper argued. She threw up her hands in despair 'I feel like I'm living in the middle of Santa's grotto.'

'Yeah if Santa had gone psycho and killed all the elves and trashed all the presents maybe' Phoebe added, looking at the mess in dismay. It would take hours to clear all this up, and she still had a shield to re-power, a demon to vanquish, a club to decorate and an advice column to write.

'Er hmm' Cole cleared his throat impatiently. 'When you three are finished with the decorating talk, we've got company. I er think the bad guys are ready for round two.'

Startled Phoebe turned around. Sure enough Cole was right. Whilst they had been standing looking at the tree, and arguing over the décor, demons and warlocks had quietly shimmered and blinked in behind them. Phoebe counted at least twenty bad guys all poised to attack. 'Oh boy' she muttered under her breath as she instinctively slipped in to a fighting stance.


	23. Chapter 23

The demon exploded, and Cole grinned in satisfaction 'that's the last of them. We should be okay for while, it's gonna take time for them to regroup after that.'

A rather dishevelled Phoebe struggled to her feet, self-consciously pushing at her hair, which seemed to have taken on a life of its own. She was painfully aware that whilst she wasn't exactly looking her best, Cole still looked as suave and well groomed as ever.

Gingerly she began her usual routine of testing all of her limbs to make sure that she was still in one piece. 'Ow' she moaned rubbing her left shoulder, which was bruised from a painful crash landing. Still better a bruised shoulder than being obliterated by an energy ball, which is what would have happened if she hadn't dived for cover. She wished she could still levitate. Jumping over energy balls was a lot less painful than diving out of the way, but that power seemed to have fizzled out when the shield was destroyed, and now she could barely get off the ground. 'Is everyone okay?' She asked, looking around anxiously.

'I'm okay, but I don't think my sweater is gonna make it' Paige grumbled from her prone position behind the couch. 'Look at these scorch marks, they'll never come out' she complained, as Phoebe helped her to her feet.

'I'm a little singed' Johnny admitted screwing up his face at the smell of his scorched hair. Still a little scorched hair was nothing compared to having his entire head taken off, which is what would have happened if Paige hadn't stepped in and re-directed the energy ball. 'It was a little close for comfort, but I'm still in one piece.'

'And still looking fine' Paige muttered appreciatively under her breath.

'Hey Piper, how are you and my little niece doing?' Phoebe called towards the kitchen. She smiled despite herself. The last time she'd seen her older sister Piper had been charging in to the kitchen attempting to blow up three very frightened warlocks. Okay so it had been more like a fast waddle than a charge, but she'd still looked pretty formidable.

'Piper?' Phoebe called again, a little more urgently this time.

When Piper didn't respond Phoebe felt a lurch of panic. What if she was hurt or unconscious or something? Logically she knew that Piper couldn't really be hurt, she had that whole self-healing thing going on, plus she was currently indestructible, but ever since losing Prue, Phoebe had been unable to think rationally where her sisters were concerned.

She paused, listened for a moment for sounds of fighting, but heard nothing; in fact the house was unnaturally quiet. Phoebe shivered. Something about this didn't feel right; Piper should have answered her by now. She ran to the kitchen, anxiously scanning the room, half expecting to see Piper lying hurt on the floor, but there was nothing, no sign of her sister at all.

'Maybe she took the fight upstairs' Paige suggested, appearing behind Phoebe. 'I mean it was pretty chaotic there for a while.' She smiled to herself 'Brad Pitt could have walked in naked and I probably wouldn't have noticed, well maybe I would have noticed, but I wouldn't have had much time to really appreciate..'

'Paige.' Phoebe interrupted tersely. 'Piper's missing.'

Seeing the fear in Phoebe's eyes, and sensing the anxiety in her voice, Paige took a deep breath, and tried to think logically. 'Okay you saw her come in here. Think. How long ago?'

'Phoebe closed her eyes, tried to remember, but she couldn't be sure. She had no idea how long they'd been fighting. 'I don't know' she said finally, feeling the panic engulf her.

She ran to in to the hall, with Paige following close behind her. 'Piper, are you up there?' she shouted up the stairs, but received no reply. Sinking down on the bottom step Phoebe buried her head in her hands 'Oh God this is all my fault, I should never have let her stay down here.'

'Hey' Paige argued. 'She wanted to stay down here and you know what Piper's like when she's made her mind up, there was no way you could have convinced her to go.'

'I should have tried harder. Why didn't I try harder?' Phoebe wailed.

Paige realised that she was gonna have to take control, Piper was missing, and Phoebe was in no shape to play lead witch right now. 'Listen Phoebe we're gonna fix this okay. We're gonna find her I promise. Johnny and I'll go check upstairs; you and Cole take the basement and outside. She's gotta be here somewhere.'

'Piper?' Phoebe asked hopefully, jumping up from her perch on the arm of the couch.

'No it's just me' Cole said softly. 'I looked everywhere out there, there's no sign of her.' He moved over and gave Phoebe's hand a comforting squeeze. 'Don't worry, we'll find her.'

Cole hated to see Phoebe so distraught; he could tell that this was eating her up inside. She blamed herself for Prue's death, because she hadn't been there to help her sisters, instead she'd been with him in the Underworld. He didn't know if things would have worked out differently if Phoebe had been there. He was just thankful that she wasn't- she could have been killed too and he couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

He'd never really gotten along with Phoebe's sisters. At first he'd seen them as adversaries to be eliminated then later as obstacles to be overcome in his quest to win over Phoebe. To begin with he'd found Piper irritating; always whining about how she wanted a normal life, not appreciating the incredible powers she'd been given. He'd figured she was weak and pathetic. Sure he hadn't gotten along with Prue, but at least he'd had a grudging respect for her take charge attitude and kick ass approach – she was tough, a worthy sparring partner.

Over the years he'd come to revise his opinion of Piper. She'd shown a strength of character that had surprised him. She'd stood up to the Elders over her marriage to Leo, had been willing to break the rules and risk the consequences. Now she'd taken over Prue's role as head of the family and she was damn good at it too. Maybe she was a little bossy for his liking, and they had clashed several times, usually over his relationship with Phoebe, but he admired her fighting spirit and her willingness to stick to her guns when she thought she was right.

He flopped down on the couch next to Phoebe, and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. She responded by moving closer to him, and instinctively he placed his arm around her shoulders. Phoebe allowed herself to be drawn in to his embrace, burying her face in the soft fabric of his sweater.

Paige and Johnny orbed in to the lounge in a twinkling of blue lights, unwittingly interrupting the moment of tenderness between the former lovers, who sprang apart guiltily. Paige was mighty glad that she was still able to orb. It was weird, but the damage to the shield didn't seem to have affected her powers as much as it had her sisters' powers.

'Anything?' Phoebe asked desperately.

'No' Paige admitted reluctantly 'we tried scrying for her and got nothing.'

They looked at each other for a moment and a look of understanding passed between them. Taking a deep breath they yelled simultaneously 'Leo!'


	24. Chapter 24

'It's no good I can't sense her.' Leo admitted sadly, opening his eyes and taking in the anxious faces of Phoebe and Paige. He was finding it impossible to remain calm despite all of his training. He guessed this was one of the reasons the Elders forbade relationships between whitelighters and their charges, no amount of training could prepare him for this.

'If you can't sense her then that means that she must be in the Under World' Phoebe suggested.

'Either that or on a different dimensional plane, or…' Leo found that he couldn't finish the sentence.

'No' Phoebe said firmly, taking hold of his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. 'I don't believe that, she's not dead, I'd know it if she was, I'd feel it. Piper's indestructible remember. She'll be okay, she has to be okay.'

'Then it's the Under World, or another dimensional plane' Paige surmised. 'Oh God I hope it's not a dimensional thing, those never turn out well for me.'

'It's more likely to be the Under World' Cole interrupted. 'Taric doesn't have the power to open dimensional portals, and he wouldn't want to bring in another demon with that kind of power, not when he aims to become the new source, it's too risky.'

'I just don't get it, why kidnap Piper? I mean if he wants to bring down the Charmed Ones why not take one of us?' Paige asked frowning in concentration. 'I mean it doesn't make any sense, she's indestructible, we're not. It's not like they can hurt her, and they can't hurt the baby whilst she's still inside... Oh' she said soberly. 'They're after the baby and they plan to keep Piper there until the baby's born, or induce labour, or perform some kind of demonic caesarean or …'

'Paige' Phoebe said forcefully, interrupting Paige's babbling. 'You have to focus. Piper's in trouble, and we have to come up with a plan, fast.'

'I have a plan' Cole said confidently, surprising everyone. 'We go down to the Under World, rescue Piper and vanquish Taric and his buddies.'

'Sounds like a plan to me.' Phoebe agreed, eager to be on the move, to actually be doing something. 'Lets bottle up the vanquishing potion, we'll have to get a slice of Taric's flesh while we're down there.' She headed towards the kitchen, with Cole right behind her.

'Hold it.' Paige commanded causing Phoebe to stop so suddenly that Cole crashed in to her. They both turned and looked at Paige inquiringly.

'You're just gonna go charging off to the Under World just like that without even stopping to think this through?' Paige asked incredulously. 'Before you weren't even sure if you trusted Cole, now you're willing to follow him to the Underworld?'

Phoebe opened her mouth to protest, but Paige cut her off 'I know, I know I'm usually the one jumping right in, you don't have to remind me. It's just this time it doesn't feel right, this is too important.'

Both Phoebe and Cole stared at her expectantly and even Leo remained silent, all three wondering where she was going with this.

It was Johnny who finally broke the silence 'so what do you think we should do Paige?'

'I don't know' Paige admitted reluctantly ' but don't you think we need a little more in the way of a plan, like I don't know say, a plan?'

Cole shrugged nonchalantly 'I told you I've got this under control.' When Paige frowned, he sighed heavily. 'It's simple. I go in first guns blazing and take out the demons, Leo orbs Piper out of there, and you three get the demon flesh and vanquish Taric, you don't need Piper for that you just need the potion.'

Paige opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, Phoebe moved over and took Paige's hand 'look Paige I really need you on board with this okay. Piper's in trouble and I can't let her down. Cole's plan makes sense to me, and it's the best chance we've got.' Her voice broke with emotion 'Please Paige, I can't do this without you.'

Paige sighed heavily. There it was again that doe-eyed pleading expression, playing the distressed sister card, guilt tripping her in to going along with a plan that she didn't agree with. She wanted to say no, but Phoebe's heart felt plea had struck a cord. She knew how vulnerable her sisters felt since losing Prue, and Phoebe was right, indestructible or not Piper was in real danger. She didn't agree with the plan, but she didn't want anything to happen to Piper and the baby, and the longer they stood here arguing, the more likely that was.

Finally she relented 'okay you win' she said grudgingly, 'we go with Cole's plan, but I don't have to like it.'

'Oh thank you Paige, you won't regret it.' Phoebe's intense relief was evident. She enveloped Paige in a hug, and then she and Cole headed towards the kitchen to bottle up the vanquishing potion. Johnny looked questioningly at Paige, and she nodded indicating that he should follow them. Reluctantly Paige headed towards the kitchen too, but before she could get very far Leo took hold of her arm and pulled her back. She looked at him in surprise 'What's wrong?'

Leo glanced nervously towards the kitchen and when he spoke he was so quiet that Paige had to strain to hear him. 'It's Cole, I don't think we can trust him.'

Paige's eyes widened in surprise 'why whatcha find out?' She hissed.


	25. Chapter 25

The first thing Piper became aware of was that her right knee was wet. Next she noticed a throbbing pain in both wrists, and finally an unpleasant stiffness in her arms and shoulders. Slowly she opened her eyes and peered into the gloom, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, but she definitely wasn't in the Manor any more that much was certain. She was a little dizzy, and when she fully opened her eyes a rush of nausea suddenly hit her. Quickly she squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, fighting to get her stomach under control. She had no idea what was wrong with her. It must have been something she'd eaten, or maybe she'd come down with the stomach flu. At first she couldn't understand why her self-healing powers weren't kicking in, and then she realised. The destruction of the shield must have started to affect the baby's powers too.

She waited until the nausea subsided to manageable proportions, and then cautiously she opened her eyes and looked around her. She wished that night vision was one of her powers, sure would come in handy right now. All she could see were ominous shapes looming in the darkness, but she had no way of telling what they were. Trying not to panic, she concentrated hard; she had to figure out what had happened, how she had ended up here, wherever here was. She could remember the battle at the Manor, and chasing the Warlocks in to the Kitchen, and then nothing. She must have blacked out that was the only explanation.

Definitely the stomach flu she decided, struggling to fight off another wave of nausea. She hadn't known she was sick because of her healing powers, but they'd obviously fizzled out during the fight and that's when it had hit her. She'd pushed herself too hard trying to prove to everyone that she was indispensable, and now she was paying the price. Instantly she felt a stab of guilt that her reckless behaviour had put her baby at risk.

As her eyes gradually became more accustomed to the dark, Piper realised that she was in a cave of some sort. She could feel the hard ground beneath her knees, and those ominous dark shapes were nothing more sinister than rock formations. Judging by the smell of soil and the dampness in the air she figured she was underground. She was kneeling in a puddle of water, which explained why her right knee was wet. She shivered. It was kinda cold and pretty creepy too. Definitely time to get out of here. Grimacing, she struggled to get to her feet, not exactly easy at eight months pregnant. She tried to move her arms to push herself up off the ground, but found that she couldn't. 'What the?' Piper muttered in disbelief.

Tentatively, almost reluctantly she looked up, and saw to her horror, the reason why she couldn't move her arms. She was chained to the wall. Iron manacles tightly clasped each wrist, which accounted for the pain she'd noticed earlier. The manacles were attached to the wall by a thick chain. She pulled with all her strength, but it was no use, it wouldn't budge. She tried to move her hands. If she could just get a little room maybe she'd have enough power left to blast her way out of here.

She had no idea how long she struggled, but eventually she had to give up. Sobbing with frustration she sank back down on to the floor. All she had to show for her efforts were painful scrapes to her wrists; she was no closer to getting free. The hopelessness of her situation hit her hard. If she couldn't move her hands, then she couldn't use her powers, and if she couldn't use her powers then she couldn't escape, nor could she protect herself. Her self-healing powers were no longer working, which meant that now she could get hurt, and so could the baby. She was in trouble, serious trouble. She did the only thing she could think of, taking a deep breath she yelled as loud as she dared 'Leo!'

Leo shook his head 'that's just it Paige, I didn't find out anything. The Elders aren't sure how Cole's able to touch the Book. They've got their top researchers working on it, but so far they haven't gotten anything concrete.' He sighed heavily. 'I mean for all we know he could be walking us straight in to a trap.'

Paige looked at him closely 'what are you saying Leo?'

Leo looked uneasy 'I'm saying that we need to be careful around Cole.'

'And why would that be Leo?' Phoebe asked from the doorway, the indignation clear in her voice.

Leo hesitated unable to meet her eyes.

'Leo, if there's something about Cole that you're not telling me then I need to know right now.' Phoebe struggled to keep her voice even 'Please Leo, no matter how bad it is, you have to tell me.'

Leo shifted his weight uneasily, really not loving this conversation. They'd been here before he and Phoebe, two years ago outside Cole's apartment. After he'd tried to heal Cole. After he'd realised what Cole really was, who Cole really was. It had broken his heart when he'd told Phoebe that the man she loved was the demon that had been trying to kill her. She hadn't wanted to believe him, had refused to accept it, but in the end there had been no denying the terrible truth.

It had come down to a question of trust, and ultimately Phoebe had put her trust in Cole even when she knew who he was and what he'd done. She had pretended to vanquish him, and had even lied to her sisters to protect him. Cole had been a pivotal force in their lives ever since that day, a force of both good and evil and that was the problem, Cole had switched allegiances so many times that it was impossible to tell the truth from the lies.

Leo took a deep breath and released it slowly. 'I don't have anything to tell you because the Elders don't know why Cole can touch the book.' He shook his head sadly 'And that's what bothers me the most.'

'What just because the Elders don't have all the answers?' Phoebe scoffed. 'You of all people should know that doesn't mean anything.'

'Think about it Phoebe, if someone up there had decided to turn Cole good then the Elders would know about it.' Leo insisted. 'You're taking an awful lot on faith here. Don't you think that it's just a little convenient that he happened to show up when he did? This could all be part of his master plan. Did you think about that?'

Phoebe frowned. 'Now you sound like Paige.'

'Hey.' Paige said indignantly 'I am still in the room you know.'

'Yeah well I'm starting to think that maybe Paige has a point' Leo continued as if Paige hadn't spoken. 'Phoebe how much do you really know about Cole? Where he's been, what he's been doing?'

'I know that he saved Paige's life at the park' Phoebe protested. 'And I know that if he hadn't helped us tonight that we might not have made it past all those Demons and Warlocks.'

'Is that enough?' Leo asked simply 'because there's a lot at stake here Phoebe. We're talking about Piper's life, and the life of the baby.'

'Don't you think I know that Leo?' she asked, her voice tight with emotion.

Paige cleared her throat awkwardly 'Look guys I know this is difficult, but we have to decide what to do. Piper's in trouble and she's counting on us to help her.'

Phoebe looked across at Leo 'so I guess I'm in the minority huh. Seems like the two of you have already made up your minds about Cole.'

Leo sighed heavily. 'I don't know Phoebe. I just think that we need to be careful around him that's all. Maybe he is good now, the book sure thinks so, it's just that the elders don't have any explanation for what's happened to him.'

'Look sweetie, are you sure that you're not just seeing things the way you want them to be?' Paige asked gently. 'I mean I think it would be great for you if Cole really was good; it's what you've always wanted. I'm just a little afraid that you're not seeing what's really there.' She shrugged 'I mean we have been here before.'

Phoebe ran a hand through her hair, thinking hard 'How do you know that it's not you being blinded by your distrust of Cole that's making you see things that aren't there?' she asked reasonably. 'I mean so far all he's done is help us.'

Paige frowned. 'But that could all be part of his plan. He tricks us in to trusting him again and then just when you least expect it he betrays us.'

'She's right Phoebe' Leo said firmly. 'The question you have to ask yourself is do you trust Cole?'

Phoebe's anxious eyes met Leo's steady gaze. 'I don't know Leo, I just don't know.' Her heart was pounding and she was shaking uncontrollably. Piper's life could depend upon whether or not she made the right decision now. She couldn't afford to get it wrong, she couldn't lose another sister, she just couldn't.

She had always put her trust in Cole, always believed in his love for her. Even when he'd been possessed by the source, he had been consumed by his love for her. She had vanquished him and it still hadn't been enough. He had come back from the wasteland more powerful than ever, and his obsession with her hadn't wavered. She still loved him, a part of her would always love him, but did she trust him? She looked at Leo helplessly 'How do I make that kind of decision?'

'You have to listen to your heart Phoebe' Leo instructed gently. 'What is it telling you?

'That's just what I want to know Phoebe' Cole interrupted from the doorway. 'What exactly is your heart telling you?'


End file.
